A bridge too low - MU finds flaw in walkway

For hundreds of University of Missouri football fans, getting from parking on one side of busy Providence Road to the stadium on the other side has long been a game-day challenge. But with the help of federal funding, the university is building a $1.6 million pedestrian bridge to make the crossing easier and safer.

With the bridge scheduled to open sometime this month, a problem has been found. Because of the way Providence Road slopes as it passes under the pedestrian bridge, the bridge clearance on the west side is only 16 feet, 3 inches, not 17 feet as required by Federal Highway Administration guidelines.

It is an embarrassment to the university to discover that flaws in design and construction of the bridge have resulted in an error of 9 inches -- which is a lot if an oversized load passing underneath is more than 16 feet, 3 inches high. This is unlikely, because most tractor-trailers, for example, are about 14 feet high.

But it's a goof nonetheless, one which will require some scrambling on the university's part to see if a federal waiver can be obtained.

As a Columbia Daily Tribune editorial cartoon put it: The bridge isn't too low. The road's too high.