Fifty bridges in 10 Mid-Missouri counties are on the state Transportation department's latest list of state-owned bridges considered to be in "critical" condition.
That's almost 8 percent of the total 641 bridges statewide that MoDOT included on its new list, released last week and based on the department's latest round of bridge inspections.
Several spans are new to the list - including the Route J bridge over U.S. 50/63 at the Taos-Osage City interchange.
Built in 1975 as part of the relocation and expansion of the highway from two to four lanes, the bridge is among the "youngest" on the MoDOT list.
"The part of this bridge which is in critical condition is the deck - the part you drive on," Dennis Heckman, the state bridge engineer, told the News Tribune. "It would not be a complete replacement" to solve the problem.
He added: "Bridge decks typically last 30 to 40 years."
The only other Cole County structure on the new list is the Route A bridge over Moreau Creek, southeast of Russellville.
That bridge also had been included in a MoDOT list state Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, used during the 2014 legislative session to demonstrate the need for more funding for Transportation department construction programs.
Lawmakers last year eventually recommended a ¾-cent, 10-year sales tax increase for road and bridge improvements - but voters rejected the idea in the August 2014 elections.
Heckman said in the MoDOT news release the list of bridges in "critical need of attention" had 50 more structures on it than last year's list and the number likely will continue to grow.
Critical condition bridges are the state's worst and - with continued deterioration - are just one or two steps from being closed, Heckman said, adding: "Critical condition doesn't mean unsafe."
"We aggressively inspect our bridges," he explained.
"When we discover a problem that is a safety issue, we close the bridge."
Only four closed bridges are on the current list - none in Mid-Missouri.
But why release the list?
"To let people know about the growing problem," he told the News Tribune. "We work with our local planning partners around the state to decide which ones to spend the limited money on."
And that's the problem Missourians need to understand, Heckman said.
"With a shrinking construction budget, the number of bad bridges is on the rise again," he said in last week's news release.
Missouri has 10,376 bridges on state highways, including 209 that are more than 1,000-feet long.
From 2008-12, the department pursued its "Safe and Sound" program that repaired - or replaced - more than 800 bridges over four years.
"When we completed the Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program in 2012, we stemmed the tide for a while," Heckman said. "But we knew that the curve would start going up again.
"Safe and Sound made a dent - however it did not repair or replace all of the state's bad bridges."
He said 50 to 100 bridges fall into the "critical condition" category each year.
Age is a factor. So is the amount of traffic a bridge carries, as well as the length of a detour when one is required, and the impact a closure or load restriction will have on local police and fire departments, school bus routes and other potential issues.
"To get ahead of the game, we should be replacing more than 100 bridges per year," Heckman said last week. "Instead, our funding levels are only allowing us to replace about 30. In 10 years, we'll have about 1,500 bridges on the critical condition list."
Missouri already has about 1,400 bridges that have posted weight limits - including 27 on the Mid-Missouri list.
MoDOT noted many of the 1,400 bridges with load limits also are, already, on the list of critical condition bridges - but others haven't made it to the list.
And, there are bridges on the critical list that haven't been posted as needing weight restrictions.
But those restrictions can cause problems for people trying to ship agriculture products or manufactured goods - as well as for routine transportation issues.
On its website, www.modot.org/Bridges, the department compares some of the "average" weights of vehicles that use the highways and bridge system.
For example:
Standard car, 1.5 tons.
Pickup, 3 tons.
Ambulance, 5 tons.
Delivery truck, 6 tons.
Loaded school bus, 17 tons.
Fire truck, 19-30 tons.
Loaded garbage truck, 25 tons.
Loaded tractor-trailer, 40 tons.
Area bridges on 2015 'critical condition' list
COLE COUNTY (2)
Route J, U.S. 50/63 (built 1975)
Route A, Moreau Creek (built 1962) - Load limits
CALLAWAY COUNTY (6)
Route M, Auxvasse Creek (built 1965) - Load limits
Route O, Crows Fork Creek (built 1967)
Route H, Davis Creek (built 1936) - Load limits
I-70 East Outer Road, Whetstone Creek (built 1923) - Load limits
Route D, I-70 (built 1963) - Load limits
Route UU, Crows Fork Creek (built 1957) - Load limits
BOONE COUNTY (7)
Route BB, I-70 (built 1958)
I-70, Sorrels Overpass Drive (built 1958) - Load limits
Westbound I-70, Westbound Ramp to Business Loop 70 (built 1957) - Load limits
Route HH, Hinkson Creek (built 1961) - Load limits
I-70 Outer Road, Little Cedar Creek (built 1961) - Load limits
Route F, Perche Creek (built 1953) - Load limits
Route F, Coon Creek (built 1953) - Load limits
CAMDEN COUNTY (10)
Route A, Auglaise Creek (built 1967) - Load limits
Route A, Conns Creek (built 1967)
Route D, Minnow Brook Creek (built 1967)
Route D, Bank Branch (built 1959) - Load limits
Route V, Linn Creek (built 1936) - Load limits
Business Park Road, Linn Creek-North Fork (built 1930)
Route N, Russell Creek (built 1960)
Route W, Brush Creek (built 1960)
Route J, Niangua River (built 1932) - Load limits
Route J, Rainwater Branch (built 1932) - Load limits
GASCONCADE COUNTY (6)
Missouri 100, Berger Creek (built 1933) - Load limits
Missouri 19, Second Creek (built 1933)
Route T, Bourbeause River (built 1958) - Load limits
Route EE, Dry Fork Creek (built 1963) - Load limits
Route J, First Creek (built 1938) - Load limits
Route A, Third Creek (built 1954) - Load limits
MARIES COUNTY (5)
Missouri 42, Little Maries River (built 1970)
Route N, Rodgers Creek (built 1967)
Missouri 68, Lane's Fork Creek (built 1976)
Route P, Lane's Fork Creek (built 1967)
Route V, Little Fly Creek (built 1960)
MILLER COUNTY (3)
Missouri 52 (over) U.S. 54 (south Eldon exit) (built 1972)
Route C, Deane Creek (built 1966)
Route A, Tavern Creek (built 1958) - Load limits
MONITEAU COUNTY (5)
Route A, Enon Creek (built 1939)
Route E, Moreau Creek (built 1964) - Load limits
Route C, High Point Branch (built 1947)
Route CC, Burris Creek Fork (built 1966)
Route CC, Medlen Creek (built 1966)
MORGAN COUNTY (3)
Route DD, Haw Creek (built 1965) - Load limits
Route PP, Messer Creek (built 1962) - Load limits
Route BB, Richland Creek (built 1955) - Load limits
OSAGE COUNTY (3)
Missouri 100, Shawnee Creek (built 1947)
Route T, Maries River (built 1966)
Route D, Mistaken Creek (built 1954) - Load limits