By DONNA FARLEY
Associate Editor
Bridge work topping $1.7 million in Wayne County has been awarded to a St. Louis company.
Pace Construction will complete two projects on Route HH and Route Z for the Missouri Department of Transportation, according to a press release.
The projects were among contracts awarded Wednesday by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.
Pace will replace a bridge over Stanley Creek on Route Z and replace the deck of another bridge over McKenzie Creek on Route HH.
The projects are scheduled to start after May 8 and finish by Nov. 1.
Both structures are on the county's list of bridges considered to be in poor condition by the Federal Highway Administration.
Wayne County had 10 bridges on this list in 2017, according to MoDOT. They are among more than 140 in the Southeast section of the state that are ranked "poor."
MoDOT reports about 100 bridges across the state fall into the "poor" category each year and it can fix or replace about 90.
Missouri ranked fourth in the country last year for its number of structurally deficient bridges, according to a report released in January by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
More than half of the state's bridges are beyond their original intended life, the state transportation department says.
Four bids were submitted for the Wayne County projects, including from Robertson Contractors and Joe's Bridge and Grading, both of Poplar Bluff. The high bid for the project topped $2.1 million.
Pace also won a bid for $865,000 to make pavement improvements in Howell and Shannon counties.
Another Poplar Bluff company, RL Persons Construction, was awarded a $270,415 contract to complete sidewalk repairs in Houston and West Plains.