Federal money will pay for some repairs on South Sprigg Street bridge

A bridge on South Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau will be repaired, thanks in part to funding from the Federal Highway Administration.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced last week $410 million in emergency relief nationwide for repairing roads and bridges damaged by storms, floods and other events, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.

The city of Cape Girardeau will receive $329,223 for work on the bridge, damaged by flooding in May and June 2013, said Stan Johnson of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"The road has been closed for about two years because of sinkhole activity in the area," city engineer Casey Brunke said. "The north abutment of the bridge is completely gone. ... You cannot cross the bridge any longer."

Brunke said the city has been trying to come up with a solution to get the bridge reopened since, adding the city is eligible for the funding because of the federal disaster declaration involving the flood event on the Mississippi River in 2013.

"So because of that, we are able to access emergency relief funding through the federal government," Brunke said. "We have received word that our application has been accepted and approved. We are literally waiting on an act of Congress to actually get the money in hand. So we know that's coming; we just don't know when."

Because that remains unknown, the city has worked with the Missouri Transportation Finance Commission to obtain a low-interest loan as interim funding until Congress acts.

Brunke said the bridge is being designed, and the city won't know the final cost until that design is complete. The estimated cost and the amount of the loan is $3,965,100, Brunke said.

Missouri will receive an additional $1,316,892 to repair damage caused by severe storms and flooding in May, June and July.

"That $1.3 million is just an allocation that we have to apply for," Johnson said. Then federal representatives go to the sites to assess the projects to determine how much is eligible for federal funding.

Three projects in MoDOT's Southeast District are possible recipients of a portion of that funding, Johnson said.

"One of the requirements is it's got to be more than $5,000 to a particular location," he said.

The first two involve Route Y in Douglas County and Route F in Wright County.

"And then the third one is Route 61 up at the Ste. Genevieve/Jefferson County line," Johnson said. "We had some pavement and guardrail and shoulder erosion and some of that stuff up there."

The estimate on that project is $35,000, Johnson said, but he couldn't say how much of the project would qualify for federal aid. He did not know when the assessments would take place.

The rest of the $410 million will be dispersed among 32 other states, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and several federal land-management agencies.

The Federal Highway Administration's emergency-relief program reimburses states for eligible expenses based on their requests, the release stated.

The funds help pay for the reconstruction or replacement of highways, bridges and guardrails or other damaged safety devices and the arrangement of detours.

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

Pertinent address:

2300 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.