Route W bridge in Scott County set to reopen Wed.

The Ditch 35 Bridge on Route W between Oran and Perkins is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, weather permitting.

The bridge was closed in March, immediately after a historic 13-inch rain. Flooding wore a hole in the road and washed out some of the bridge pilings.

"Drivers have been detoured until we could get a contract in place to replace the bridge with a safe structure," said MoDOT engineer Brian Holt. "We are very appreciative of their patience and happy the contractor could make the repairs more quickly than expected."

The single-span concrete bridge is nearly 59 feet long and has steel rails.

Holt said the new bridge is designed so that "there should be no problems of this bridge being damaged by future floods."

He said the bridge is used by school buses and by farmers who need to transport crops and supplies.

Repairs cost $233,000. A.E. Simpson Construction of Scott City did the work, he said.

For more information, call MoDOT at 888-275-6636.