Jackson aldermen hear options for making Hubble low-water bridge safer

It wasn’t long after a 5-year-old girl nearly drowned in mid-May when she was sucked under a low-water bridge over Hubble Creek in Jackson’s City Park before the city’s administrative staff began looking for ways to keep the same thing from ever happening again.

The near-drowning happened May 17 when dangerous currents caused by heavy rainfall pushed the girl, Kinsley Stuart, toward drain pipes running under the bridge. Fortunately, several other children who were playing nearby were able to rescue her.

On Monday night, the Jackson Board of Aldermen were presented with several options for reducing the chances of a similar occurrence.

Bill Robinson with the civil engineering firm of Smith & Co. told the aldermen there are essentially four options — remove the drain pipes under the roadway, install grates in front of the drains, fill in the pipes or simply remove the low-water bridge, thereby eliminating pedestrian and vehicular traffic over the creek.

“Our recommendation would be removal (of the concrete road over the creek bed),” Robinson said. “That would be the safest option.”

Jackson city administrator Jim Roach said the next step would be to look at the costs for each option and then decide the “level of risk that we feel is acceptable.”

In the meantime, signs have been posted warning of potential hazards posed by the creek current, especially when the creek’s water level is higher than normal.

Roach said the city staff will make a recommendation to the board at a future meeting.

A safety notice is posted near a concrete staircase leading to the waters of Hubble Creek on Monday at Jackson City Park.Ben Matthews

Other items discussed by the aldermen during their study session Monday night included:

• Possible parking changes on North Missouri Street between West Main and West Washington streets.
• Relocation of a water line on East Jackson Boulevard in relation to a Saint Francis Healthcare System construction project.
• A fiber-optic communications equipment installation project proposed by Big River Communications.
• An update on the city’s wastewater facility implementation program and the potential of putting a bond issue before voters in 2021 to fund upgrades to the system.
• A request for a partial street closure in the 100 block of East Main Street to accommodate a building repair at 100 S. High St.

During the board’s business meeting before the study session, the aldermen:

• Approved the appointment of Lisa Beussink to serve as city collector, replacing Debbie Lohman who has retired.
• Accepted the bid and authorized a contractual agreement with Apex Paving Co. of Cape Girardeau in the amount of $216,246.12 for the city’s 2020 asphalt pavement improvement program.
• Accepted the bid of K.D. Johnson Inc. of Leonard, Texas, in the amount of $48,821 for the purchase of equipment in connection with the city’s electric distribution protective relay project.
• Accepted the bid and authorized a contractual agreement with Riverside Roofing Co. LLC of Cape Girardeau in the amount of $87,064 for a roof replacement project at Jackson City Hall.
• Approved an ordinance accepting the voluntary annexation of property at 357 Timber Lane in Jackson as submitted by Todd Johnson and Kaci Jo Sparkman.
• Approved an ordinance authorizing an agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation for management of Rotary Lake and Litz Park Lake under the department’s community assistance program.
• Accepted a utility easement deed from Theodore and Vicki Holzum related to the city’s electric extension project along South Farmington Road.
• Authorized a supplemental agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission related to the roundabout project at the intersection of Hope and East Main streets.
• Approved an agreement with the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri for the calendar year 2020.
• Approved several traffic ordinances related to the roundabout at the intersection of East Main Street and Shawnee Boulevard.
• Approved two ordinances related to the dedication of sanitary sewer and utility easement deeds, one from Appleton Vally Farm Inc. and the other from Abbottsford Land Management and Benton Hill Investment Co.

The board also agreed to move the date of its first meeting in September from Sept. 7 to 9 to avoid meeting on Labor Day.

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