Highway 34 bridge closures to be discussed at today's hearing

The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold an open-house community briefing today to discuss upcoming Safe & Sound bridge improvement projects in Cape Girardeau County. The briefing will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Osage Centre.

Three of the bridges to be discussed are located on Highway 34. MoDOT plans to close and replace Highway 34 bridges over Whitewater Overflow, Whitewater River and Byrd Creek this May through August. Detours will be posted over routes OO and Z as construction is underway.

The Highway 61 bridge over Ramsey Creek is also scheduled to be replaced, with work expected to take place August through October. As improvements to that bridge are made, southbound Highway 74 traffic will be diverted to the new interchange.

Additional bridge projects to be discussed at today's hearing are:

* Route EE Little River Drainage Ditch No. 1

* Route V Indian Creek

* Route U Allen Creek

* Route A Beam Creek

For more information or a complete listing of bridges included in the program, call Southeast Regional Field Engineer Andy Meyer at 573-472-5296 or 888-275-6636, or log onto www.modot.org/southeast/safeandsound.htm