REPAIRS TO OLD RIVER BRIDGE RESUME

It has been slow going on the Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau this week, but motorists are taking it in stride.

A Missouri Department of Transportation crew from Jefferson City began making more repairs to the bridge Tuesday. The work has reduced a section of the bridge to one lane during the day, creating traffic delays.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, eastbound traffic was backed up half way across the bridge. Traffic a few minutes earlier was backed up along Illinois Route 146 as motorists waited to cross into Cape Girardeau."It hasn't stopped anybody from coming, but it has slowed people down," said Lenny Martin, owner of Karpet Korner in East Cape Girardeau, Ill.

Martin said he and his staff routinely cross the bridge to go to work and lay carpet for customers in Southeast Missouri. "We cross that bridge five or six times a day," he said.

Bridge repairs are becoming almost routine on the aged bridge. Earlier this year motorists often had to wait 30 to 40 minutes to cross the bridge.

This time the delay is shorter. "The longest anybody has had to sit and wait is 15 to 20 minutes," he said.

MoDOT announced delays could be as long as 15 minutes. But Randy Hitt, MoDOT area engineer, said delays typically have been much shorter. Hitt said the worst wait over the noon hour was about three-to-four minutes."It is really no longer than a signal light," said Hitt. Traffic backup is heaviest early in the morning and late in the afternoon, he said.

For those stuck on the bridge, there is always the view to pass the time, Hitt said. "While up there they can just enjoy the view over the river."The highway crew is making repairs on the eastbound lane of the bridge on the Illinois side, with traffic being routed to the westbound lane. The repair work is expected to continue through Christmas, Hitt said.

Steel plates are being welded to the bridge deck. The repaired surface will be paved with asphalt. "We are going to work on the worst locations," said Hitt."We just ask people to be cautious and careful because there are men out there working," said Hitt.

More delays can be expected in coming months as MoDOT makes piecemeal repairs to the bridge.

Hitt said large farm machinery and oversized truck loads such as those carrying mobile homes won't be able to cross the bridge when traffic is reduced to one lane.

Some 14,000 vehicles a day cross the bridge, many of them during daylight hours when repairs are being made.

Monday is a travel day for the highway crew from Jefferson City. Repairs won't start until about noon on Mondays and will last until about 4 p.m., when the bridge will be reopened to two-lane traffic. Repair work is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

No work will be done on Friday since the crew must travel back to Jefferson City, Hitt said.

The repair schedule shouldn't be too disruptive to motorists, he said. Avoiding weekend repair work should help. "Most of your traffic is going to be on the weekend, with Christmas shopping anyway," Hitt said.