Cole County commissioners gave approval Tuesday to replace a bridge on Old Forge Road using federal money for the work.
Old Forge Road is off Old Bass Road, south of Brazito. The one-lane bridge over Clark Fork, built in 1930, was recently posted with an 18-ton load limit.
The bridge will be replaced using federal funds from the Off System Bridge Program for county bridges administered by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“Our county receives about $104,000 each year from this program, and we currently have a $618,000 balance,” Cole County Engineer Eric Landwehr said. “There are restrictions on the use of these funds, with the primary use being replacement of deficient bridges.”
“The first step in the federal process is to sign an agreement with MoDOT that spells out the process for utilizing the funds,” Landwehr said. “The next step will be to select a consultant to do the design work. Our tentative schedule is to have the plans done and ready to bid by late fall with construction taking place primarily over the winter and into next spring.”
MoDOT determines whether a bridge is deficient based on biannual bridge inspections, Landwehr said. MoDOT inspects bridges in counties and cities that are more than 20 feet in length.
Cole County currently has six bridges on MoDOT’s deficient list. The others include:
• Moniteau Creek Road over Moniteau Creek — Landwehr said the county will put out a bid date by the end of the week to remove the bridge. It will not be replaced.
• High Point Road over Gibler Creek — This bridge is scheduled for rehab or replacement through the MoDOT process, like the Old Forge Road bridge. Landwehr said the design will be started in the next month or two.
• Waterford Road over North Moreau Creek — Landwehr said the bridge is functionally obsolete due to the width of the deck, but overall it is in decent condition and will not be scheduled for rehab or replacement.
• Tanner Bridge Road over the Moreau River — This is a large bridge built in 1962. “It is fair condition, and we do routine maintenance work on it,” Landwehr said. “It is not load posted, and we plan to maintain it in a fair condition as long as feasible. Replacement costs would be in the $2 million range.”
• Hemstreet Road over North Moreau Creek: Landwehr said this bridge is in poor condition and load posted at 12 tons. He said it likely will be be removed and will not be replaced due to reasonable access on both sides from Route C.
“The county has 95 bridge structures that are inspected by MoDOT every two years,” Landwehr said. “After the replacement and removal of the four structures, we’ll be down to only two on the deficient list.”