MoDOT to replace 9 Cape Girardeau County bridges in coming years

The Missouri Department of Transportation plans to replace nine Cape Girardeau County bridges it has identified as the most in need of repair.

During Monday's Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting, MoDOT regional field engineer Andy Meyer said those bridges in the county are among the 802 bridges scheduled for replacement within four years through its Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program. First instituted in 2009, the program's goal is improving the lowest-rated bridges by Oct. 31, 2014.

The first bridge scheduled for replacement on U.S. 61 over Buckeye Creek will close by the spring and will reopen a few months later.

Other bridges include three on Highway 34 that span the Whitewater River, Byrd Creek and the Whitewater overflow. Crews will replace those bridges in 2011 and 2012.

Meyer said during this time motorists who normally use these bridges may have to take a detour for the two to three months of the repair, but the end result would be worth the brief inconvenience.

"We're looking at roughly two-and-a-half months of inconvenience to get three new bridges across [Highway] 34," Meyer said. "[They] will be wider than the ones there and won't have the clearance issues that the existing bridges have. There are benefits there."

Meyer said informing the public of the project is important. An open house is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Fruitland Area Fire Department, 7273 U.S. 61. Representatives from MoDOT will be on hand to answer questions or address concerns residents may have about the project.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said area law enforcement and emergency personnel should be notified of any potential detours the bridge project could cause.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

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