BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Smith & Company, Engineers, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., has identified six of the most deficient bridges in Stoddard County at the request of the Stoddard County Commission. The bridges will be replaced using Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program (BRO) funds.
Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis asked the other commissioners at a recent regular meeting to check the information and make a recommendation in two weeks.
The commission has overseen replacement of 13 bridges in the county since 2012. All but one of those bridges were built using BRO funds. The county has only $14,523.08 left in BRO funds after the last of five bridge replacements was completed in March. The 2017 allocation for BRO funds to the county is $460,734.61. The county still has $226,444.55 in soft match credit.
Mathis said it is a lengthy process to rebuild a bridge using BRO funds. He recommended the commission program two more bridges in anticipation of receiving 2017 BRO funds in the fall this year.
"We still don't know how much BRO money we will receive, so we may only be able to fund one bridge replacement," noted Mathis.
Smith & Company identified what they considered the six bridges in the county most in need of replacement. The basis was primarily a visual inspection by engineers. Four of those bridges were in Elk Township (southeast corner of the county) and two were in Castor Township (central part of the county).
The bridges in Elk Township that were deemed most deficient were on County Road 780, County Road 784, County Road 743 and on County Road 772. The bridges in Castor Township that were rated most deficient were on County Road 467 and County Road 541.
In the end, Smith & Company recommended replacement of the bridge on County Road 772 (Elk Township) and on County Road 467 (Castor Township).
Commissioner Steve Jordan said he was contacted by Engineer Bill Robison to look at the bridges. He said he was going with Robison to visually assess the condition of the bridges.
Mathis said there were several bridges in Elk Township that were still the "old wooden" design. He said the assessment should be based on the condition of the support structures under the bridges. Jordan and Commissioner Carol Jarrell agreed.
Jeremy Manning, project engineer with Smith & Company, told the commission the cost of bridge beams has increased, which has led to a change in design. Manning said the company would propose a "spread box beam design, utilizing a composite section with a reinforced concrete deck to reduce the total number of beams."
Manning said this was expected to reduce the cost of each bridge while still meeting the specifications of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
"It is actually the style of bridge used most often by MoDOT for single span structures," wrote Manning in a communication with the commission.
Watson said the county received $67,931 in credit (soft match funds) for a bridge was replaced in Castor Township. The total cost of construction of that bridge on County Road 413 was $84,913.75.
Sheriff's office vehicle
A 2017 Ford Explorer has been purchased for the sheriff's office at a cost of $27,851. The vehicle was purchased from Lou Fusz Automotive in Chesterfield, Mo. It will replace a vehicle that was totaled in an accident. The county received $9,250.33 from the insurance settlement and from selling the vehicle for salvage.
Mathis said the commission needed to determine where remaining money for the purchase will be put into the budget. He said the money could come from sheriff's office budget or from county general budget.
County Clerk Joe Watson said the commission could wait until the end of the fiscal year to make that determination. He said the commission could see if there was enough money remaining in the sheriff's budget to cover the expense.
Mathis said he agreed, and a decision could be made when the budget is amended at the end of the year. He asked for input from other commissioners.
"It makes sense to me," responded Jordan.
"That's good with me," said Jarrell.
No action as taken.
Mathis said the parking area in front of the Justice Center was in need of re-striping, especially the handicapped parking spaces. The other commissioners agreed. Mathis said he would talk with Building Superintendent William Dowdy about getting that project started.