New bridge approved for Liberty Road

The Cole County Commission has approved a contract to replace a bridge on Liberty Road, and the funds to pay for it will come out of the county's half-cent capital improvements sales tax.

At their Tuesday meeting, commissioners approved the low bid from Brenneke Construction of $413,179.

County Engineer Eric Landwehr said the bid came in $33,000 above the engineer's estimate. They aren't getting as many competitive bids as they have in the past because the economy is better and there are also fewer contractors. Those contractors who are working are busy right now, and many contractors are busy with MoDOT projects, he said.

Landwehr said they had budgeted a total of $400,000-$450,000 for the project, and the engineering work will cost $85,000-$90,000.

Work on the project will begin within 30 days of the contract being signed. When the road closes to replace the bridge, it must be re-opened in 90 days. All the work on the project must be done by April 15.

Landwehr added Water District No. 4 also plans to replace a water line in the area of the bridge work. Twehous Excavating will do that work, which is being paid for by the district for a cost of $77,905, which was the lowest bid.

In other public works matter, the commission

Approved putting stop signs at Gulley Road and Dawson Road and at Gulley Road and Clibourn Road. The county's transportation advisory board had recommended the signs because of sight distance problems in both locations.

Also Tuesday, commissioners were told three of the four new dispatchers the commission approved to be hired for the county's ambulance service have begun training, and the fourth person will be in place by early next month. The county's newest ambulance, which only has approximately 2,000 miles, is having mechanical problems which could be related to it's exhaust system. It is being serviced and the work is covered under warranty.