Butler County officials said Friday they will seek additional funding to make up a shortfall of at least 30 percent in the cost to construct a long-awaited railroad overpass at the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park.
Bids for the project were opened July 14 and came in well over the $2.6 million initially expected.
Roberston Contractors was the apparent low bidder at nearly $3.4 million, but the contract has not been awarded.
Officials have given differing figures for the possible shortfall, ranging from approximately $700,000 to more than $800,000.
The Butler County Commissioners discussed the matter Wednesday and Friday mornings. They were joined Friday by representatives of engineering firm Horner & Shifrin, the contractor, Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission and the Greater Poplar Bluff Area of Chamber of Commerce.
"I think if we get the community behind it, we can surely come up with it," said presiding commissioner Vince Lampe.
Suggestions included seeking money from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Poplar Bluff Regional Transportation Development District, or a larger contribution from Union Pacific Railroad.
Eastern District commissioner Butch Anderson expressed concern that this project would fall outside of what the TDD is allowed to fund, and that MoDOT may not have any money to contribute.
If the contract is awarded, some savings could be found within the project, said Colby Robertson, president of Robertson Contractors.
"I don't believe it to be $800,000 (short) as we sit here today," he said. "I feel pretty confident we could make (it) work without redesigning anything, maybe just changing the ingredients of the design a little bit and still stay with all the standards."
The county would still need to find several hundred thousand dollars, even with these potential changes, according to the discussion.
This project is needed, but the county itself does not have the funds, Lampe said.
"If I'm going to have to start laying people off next year, it doesn't look good for me to go out and get a loan to do an overpass," Lampe said.
The county has been trying to recover after several years of spending from the cash reserve to cover operating expenses.
Commissioners have also said sales tax figures are not seeing the growth they expected, blaming a special taxing district that makes payments to the developers of the Eight Points retail area.
Under the current funding structure, the county would only need to contribute in-kind work to the overpass project.
It would create a safer entrance for the industrial park, officials have said. They have estimated that 25 trains cross Industrial Park Road daily, and as many as 1,600 vehicles.
The original project called for a viaduct to be built over the railroad tracks, with a 135-foot single-span bridge.
Costs for a 2.5-foot thick crash wall account for the majority of the overages, said Bob Summers of Horner & Shifrin.
UP requires it to be able to withstand a train derailment without collapsing, he said.
Construction costs for the wall alone make up approximately $1 million of the bid.
"The price of the crash wall has doubled over the last year," Summers said.
A single panel for the wall weighs 10,700 pounds, said Robertson. A combination of the railroad requirements and the soil type where the wall will be built make it the most expensive material of this type that he has seen.
UP should contribute more to the project if they want it built to these standards, said Anderson.
UP money makes up about $135,900 of the total.
Western District commissioner Boots LeGrand asked if the project could be redesigned to save money, if no new funds could be found.
This would be the most difficult and time consuming option, Summers said. It would require at least 45 days to develop new drawings, which would then have to be approved by multiple agencies before being rebid.
The project received six bids, which are good for 90 days.
Bids received for the project were (approximate): Joe's Bridge and Grading, $3.894 million; Robertson, $3.398 million; Young's General Contracting, $4.509 million; Pace Construction, $3.879 million; Emery Sapp and Sons, $3.425 million; and Millstone Weber, $3.630 million.
Funding sources include (approximate): a $1.4 million community block development grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development; $1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce; and $101,100 from the Delta Regional Authority.