RETURN OF BLOOMFIELD BRIDGE WELCOMED BY CITY

After a long delay, the new Bloomfield Road bridge has opened. We welcome back the return of this major east-west connection that links Bloomfield to Kinghighway and points west.

The old bridge was shut down last June for construction of the new 36-foot-wide span, which includes a 5-foot-wide pedestrian crossing. The wider bridge should be safer and better able to handle the traffic flow.

The replacement is part of the Cape LaCroix Creek-Walker Branch flood-control project. It represents a joint effort of the city and Army Corps of Engineers. Funding comes both from federal dollars and a tax approved by Cape Girardeau voters.

The Bloomfield Road bridge serves not only through traffic but a number of businesses and residential areas east and west of Kingshighway. The significant inconvenience created by the temporary loss underscores its need.

The project was certainly plagued by delay. But these problems shouldn't be seen as a predictor of things to come. City officials say these delays can be attributed to unique problems associated with the site itself - namely, protection of nearby buildings and construction of the hiking-biking trail underpass.

Lessons have also been learned from the Bloomfield bridge replacement to assist the remainder of the project. City officials are working to improve coordination by bidding all of the bridge work as part of the Corps channel work contract. Parts of the Bloomfield bridge project were separate contracts, which added to delays. Rainy weather also took its toll last fall.

The project incorporates more than flood control, which is important in itself. A number of city-owned bridges over Cape LaCroix Creek and Walker Branch are old and approaching the need for replacement. For example, the city recently had to place a load limit on the Themis Street bridge over Walker Branch, which will be replaced as part of the project. This Corps project will replace most of these aging bridges with structures that meet modern standards.

It's not easy to replace well-traveled bridges. We can all remember the inconvenience created during the William Street bridge replacement. That bridge was also widened as part of the Corps project. We now take that improved intersection for granted.

Motorists should also accept the fact that the inconveniences of the bigger projects are far from over. Six more bridges will be replaced just east of Kingshighway as part of the Walker Branch segment of the project. But in the long run, the city will be well served by this project - both in terms of flood control and safer bridges. These minor traffic inconveniences will soon be forgotten as each new bridge is completed.