Highway C Bridge Still County’s Top Transportation Priority

Crawford County commissioners on Tuesday selected the bridge located over the Little Bourbeuse River on Highway C as its top transportation priority.

This is the third straight year the bridge, which was recently downgraded to being in “poor” condition, has topped the list.

The bridge is just one-lane and can be a hazard to drivers. Traffic coming from Bourbon approaches the bridge downhill and is unseen by traffic from the other direction. There is an accident history at the location.

Crawford County’s other transportation priorities are a bridge over Dry Creek located on Highway HH south of Cherryville and the intersection of Highway D and Sappington Bridge Road in Sullivan.

The county’s Missouri Department of Transportation liaison Preston Kramer told commissioners Tuesday the bridge over Dry Creek is beyond repair and is in “serious” condition.

Commissioners selected the bridge as one of its three priorities last year.

Dropped from the list this year was the intersection of Highway 19 and Lindburg Road. Kramer said there is no significant accident history. County Clerk John Martin asked if traffic lights could be installed, but Kramer doesn’t believe the history would justify it.

The list will be presented to the Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s Transportation Advisory Committee meeting on Dec. 13. 

Last year, the Highway C bridge was second on the “high priority” list, which is voted on by officials from the eight-county organization.

It was runner-up to Highway 28 in Gasconade County near the Owensville schools.

The Lindburg project was considered “medium priority” and the Highway HH bridge “low priority” following last year’s TAC meeting, but given the downgraded condition, that may change.

Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders has been an advocate for widening the bridge and has worked to see it steadily move up the list.

While county officials will try to push for their projects next month, some are already scheduled to begin in the next two years.

Safety improvements are scheduled for 2019 on Highway 49. The work will go from the intersection of Highway 19 and Highway 49 in Cherryville down to Highway 32. Two-foot shoulders will be added, along with rumble strips.

Two bridges that are rated in “poor” condition are scheduled for 2020. One bridge is over Dry Creek on Highway 49. Another goes over Brush Creek on Highway CC.