|
|
|
Missouri has made a down payment toward getting rid of its deficit of bad bridges.
In 2009, the state has gotten through the first 107 of 802 bridges deemed to be in such poor shape that they need immediate attention. Trying to catch up, the state has taken a calculated risk, awarding one huge contract to replace 554 of those bridges by the end of 2013. The other 248 are being fixed up separately.
State officials pointed out that they crossed the 100-bridge mark this week. It appears that they have started with a good number of straightforward projects: fairly small, two-lane bridges in rural areas. More complex projects – that shabby looking bridge that carries Blue Ridge Boulevard over Missouri 350 is a good example – are coming later. Others in Jackson County are to include Missouri 7 over Big Rock Creek, the Wahoo Bridge on U.S. 24 and U.S. 24 over Rock Creek.
The whole thing is supposed to be done by Oct. 31, 2014, at a cost of $700 million, although the original goal was the end of 2012. So, even though this problem has been known and publicly debated for several years, now drivers have to take what assurance they can that five years from today, our roads should be noticeably better and safer.
But there’s one more catch: About 1,200 of the state’s 10,000-plus bridges are rated as structurally deficient. Even after these 802 – the worst of the bad – are addressed, hundreds more will need expensive work.
Missouri has made a down payment toward getting rid of its deficit of bad bridges.
In 2009, the state has gotten through the first 107 of 802 bridges deemed to be in such poor shape that they need immediate attention. Trying to catch up, the state has taken a calculated risk, awarding one huge contract to replace 554 of those bridges by the end of 2013. The other 248 are being fixed up separately.
State officials pointed out that they crossed the 100-bridge mark this week. It appears that they have started with a good number of straightforward projects: fairly small, two-lane bridges in rural areas. More complex projects – that shabby looking bridge that carries Blue Ridge Boulevard over Missouri 350 is a good example – are coming later. Others in Jackson County are to include Missouri 7 over Big Rock Creek, the Wahoo Bridge on U.S. 24 and U.S. 24 over Rock Creek.
The whole thing is supposed to be done by Oct. 31, 2014, at a cost of $700 million, although the original goal was the end of 2012. So, even though this problem has been known and publicly debated for several years, now drivers have to take what assurance they can that five years from today, our roads should be noticeably better and safer.
But there’s one more catch: About 1,200 of the state’s 10,000-plus bridges are rated as structurally deficient. Even after these 802 – the worst of the bad – are addressed, hundreds more will need expensive work.
