MoDOT awards contract to replace bridges over Highway 72

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has approved a contract for work on two bridges along Highway 72 in Cape Girardeau County at a cost of $3,632,093, according to a MoDOT news release.

The contractor with the winning bid, awarded Friday, was Robinson Contractors, Inc., of Poplar Bluff, Mo. The project includes replacing the bridges over the Whitewater River and Byrd Creek near Millersville, along with grading, paving and resurfacing work.

The new Byrd Creek bridge will be located slightly to the south of the existing bridge, and Highway 72 will be reduced to one lane for "a few weeks" during construction, the news release states. During the lane reductions, traffic will be controlled by signals. An overflow structure will also be built west of the new bridge.

During work on the Whitewater bridge traffic will be detoured over a temporary bypass, but work can't take place during the spring months because the Whitewater River has a "sensitive stream" designation. Work on the two bridges could start as early as January, with an estimated completion date of spring 2010.