A new bridge is in the works along Butler County Road 410, and it’s one county commissioners said is desperately needed.
The current bridge, located over Cane Creek, about one-half mile west of Walton Chapel, is an “old, old bridge, and it’s not in good shape,” said Western District Commissioner Boots LeGrand.
“That bridge is in pretty bad shape,” LeGrand said. “The structure, the surface … all of it. The whole bridge is about shot.
“In my opinion, it’s the worst bridge we have in the county, so it’s good we’re getting it changed out.”
Mandated environmental studies, LeGrand said, currently are being undertaken, as well as a hydrology study.
“When they get done with those, we’ll proceed on” with it, LeGrand said, while declaring “no bids have went out yet.”
There isn’t yet an estimated cost of the new bridge, Lampe said, but primary funding will come through the state.
S.H. Smith & Company of Poplar Bluff is doing the engineering work, Legrand said, and staff there expect actual construction to begin sometime next summer.
Like the one it will replace, the new bridge, Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe said, will feature a steel structure and a concrete deck.
While the current bridge doesn’t see a great deal of traffic, LeGrand said, it does see substantially heavy agricultural equipment use.
“The road goes through all the way to Ellsinore and it’s all agricultural land, so you’re picking up farmers going both ways,” he said.
The old bridge, Eastern District Commission Butch Anderson said, has a five-ton weight limit on it because of its deterioration.
“Age-wise, we’ve got to do something,” Anderson said.
“Residents in the area know the bridge is bad and are glad it’s getting changed,” added Legrand.