LETTERS: BRIDGE REPAIRS ARE NEEDED

To the editor:

On my way back to Scopus from Jackson last week, I was thinking on how people in this area are really proud of their lineage. I was alone on Highway 34 heading for home thinking of how many people drove on this highway for the recent scenic river drive. So I took the time to drink in all the natural and historical features dressed up in their finest for all to see.

I believe that most people today are in too much of a hurry to really appreciate all this beauty -- until you cross the Whitewater River bridge on Highway 34 in Cape Girardeau County near the intersection of Route UU and Route OO in Burfordville.

A week or so ago I read an article in the Southeast Missourian on the replacement of the old Cape Road bridge in Jackson. The article stated that the original cobblestone framework was covered with concrete casings. If one takes the time to look at the bridge over the Whitewater on Highway 34, one will see the same type of construction. But on the Whitewater bridge most of the bottom concrete has long been washed away in the Whitewater River, and only the steel cables are showing. The potholes are worse than the ones on the roads in Pennsylvania, and everyone knows Pennsylvania has the worst roads in the nation.

I talked to an official from Marble Hill where Highway 34 goes through, and he informed me that the two highways most neglected in Southeast Missouri are Highway 34 and Highway 51. After talking to this official and driving over the Whitewater bridge, I realized why most people drive across this bridge at a fast rate of speed and in the middle of the bridge. If you stay in your lane and drive at a reasonable speed, between hitting all the potholes and the thought of the condition of that bridge makes one utter some choice words under his breath and completely forget all the beauty that surrounds him.

It's time for Missouri's bridge division to start planning some type of updating for this sorry-looking bridge before this bridge goes by the way, as did the piece of concrete in the past.

ANDREW J. WIESNER JR.

Marble Hill