A bridge replacement on County Road 488 Dudley Special is predicted by contractors to begin in about two weeks and last 90 days, depending on weather, Stoddard County Commissioners learned recently.
A preconstruction meeting regarding the bridge was held during the Stoddard County commission meeting Monday morning between the county; Smith & Co., project engineer of Poplar Bluff; Pace Construction Company, project contractor of St. Louis and MoDOT.
"The job should go fairly quick," Construction Manager Brian Van Cardo of Pace Construction said.
Weather will determine if asphalt or concrete will be poured during paving, Van Cardo said. At this time, the bridge is scheduled to receive asphalt unless weather is preventing the project from moving forward, then concrete will be poured.
"There are less weather restrictions with concrete," Van Cardo said.
The bridge is estimated to cost $117,950 to replace. The funds will be provided by the Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation (BRO) program, which provides funding to counties for replacement or rehabilitation of deficient bridges.
The bridge, built in 1925, saw an average daily traffic of 35 vehicles.
MoDOT closed the bridge a couple years ago after receiving a low deficiency rating during an inspection in Dec. 2014, but the road has remained accessible.
According to Smith & Co. Project Engineer Jeremy Manning, the bridge is non-elevated and there is no actual water flow.
Commissioner Carol Jarrell said this bridge project has been on going for several years, even before the bridge closed.
Jarrell and fellow Commissioner Steve Jordan both agreed this particular bridge will please a lot of farmers who frequent the road with farm equipment once reopened.