Next Jackson bridge project OK'd to proceed

The $1.6 million West Mary Street Bridge and Sidewalk Project has obtained a "notice to proceed" authorization from the City of Jackson, city engineer Anna Bergmark said Friday, but indicated work will not begin until Sept. 6, a few weeks later than originally anticipated.

Millersville's Putz Construction, the project's general contractor, requested the delay after the company completed the $550,000 Hubble Creek Bridge last week, ahead of schedule.

"We also approved the delay on West Mary because we wanted to allow the Jackson schools some time to get their bus schedules normalized for the coming academic year," Bergmark said.

West Mary's project is a more expensive endeavor than Hubble Creek's new span connecting Parkview Street and Cascade Drive in City Park, in part because of the extensive earthmoving required.

The current West Mary low-water crossing over Hubble Creek floods regularly, becoming impassable during storms.

A drawing of the new $1.6 million West Mary Street Bridge in Jackson. City officials have given Putz Construction of Millersville "notice to proceed," with work to begin Sept. 6.Courtesy Cochran Engineering and City of Jackson

The new bridge will be above the flood plain and will add a walkway, permitting increased foot traffic.

"The (West Mary Street) bridge will be similar in size and in appearance to the Washington Street bridge further downstream," Public Works director Kent Peetz said earlier this year, adding the two-lane connector with a sidewalk on either side probably will not be finished until early 2023.

"A key part of the Mary project is going a block-and-a-half with new sidewalks where none exist now. Providing paths for foot traffic in cities is becoming more and more popular," Peetz earlier told the Southeast Missourian.

City administrator Jim Roach is on record saying "safety" is the primary driver for a new West Mary Street bridge, noting two vehicles have washed off the current low-water crossing in the last 20 years.