Three Bridges On County Replacement List

Crawford County has three bridges it is submitting for replacement through the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Regional Bridge Program.

MoDOT is accepting up to three applications through the end of July.

The cycle runs from 2022 through 2024.

The Regional Bridge Program replaces the previous BRO program and is funded using BRO funds and new funds available through the new Bridge Formula Program (BFP).

MoDOT says $110 million of federal bridge funds will be available.

Applications will be reviewed and scored by the regional bridge committee and selected based on available funds.

Final decisions are expected to be announced Sept. 16, 2022.

Crawford County commissioners on Tuesday were informed by Jeff Banderet of Great River Engineering, a company that has assisted them on past projects, that each county in the state is likely to at least have one bridge replaced.

Bridges with a higher NBI (National Bridge Inventory) score are more likely to be replaced, but Banderet said the score can be overridden by the bridge committee.

Bridges that the county would like to replace are over Little Shoal Creek, High Point Road and Benton Creek.

The bridge over Little Shoal Creek was built in 1948. The state gave Crawford County District 1 Foreman Danny Brown an estimate of $311,000 for replacement, but Brown said he is adding 20% to each estimate.

That brings the total up to around $373,000.

The county would have to pay 12% of the costs.

The bridge on High Point Road was built in 1949 and Brown estimates it would cost $425,000 overall and $51,000 for the county.

Built in 1963, the bridge over Benton Creek is estimated at $546,000 and Brown believes the county would have to kick in around $65,000.

The county has several low water crossings, which Banderet said can be replaced through the new program, but they do not have an NBI score.

“MoDOT wants bridges off the list,” Banderet said.