District 1 Has Received $1.5 Million In Grant Funds To Rebuild, Repair Bridges

District 1 in Crawford County, which covers the southern half of the county, has received $1.5 million in grant and BRO (off-system bridge replacement and rehabilitation program) to rebuild and repair bridges over the last three years.

The figures, provided by Commissioner Rob Cummings and foreman Danny Brown, show the county has obtained funds to make improvements to 11 bridges since 2017.

The projects are:

Berryman Cut-Off: A slab with a deteriorated pipe that was replaced with a box bridge.

Whilhite: Two 18-inch pipes were added to the existing slab.

Roberts Cemetery: A slab with a deteriorated pipe was replaced with a box bridge.

Dillard Mill: Added approach on two bridges.

Big Shoal: A slab with a deteriorated pipe was replaced with a box bridge.

According to Cummings and Brown, those improvements have saved the county from flooding issues. Making those fixes have improved water flow and crossings by 80 percent.

Benton Creek and John Coleman: On the Benton Creek bridge, the district drilled into bedrock and set two 10 inch steel pipes that were filled with concrete. On John Coleman, three I-beams were damaged due to flooding. The bridge deck was demolished and they poured a new deck with I-beams inside. 

Cummings and Brown said by pouring the I-beams into the deck floor, they were able to make opening smooth for trees and debris to flow through better. Both bridges were approved by the Missouri Department of Transportation and increased the weight limit.

Delcour: A flood flipped the bridge, so the county drove an I-beam and replaced it. The county was reimbursed $41,897.03 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Courthouse: A bridge outside the courthouse fell in and was condemned. The county demolished what was left and poured a new bridge. An engineering firm approved and inspected the bridge.

Brickey: The US Forestry Service reimbursed the county $544,014 to completely rebuild this bridge.

Thuman Lake: This bridge will be rebuilt beginning September 1, 2020. The county will use BRO funds of $477,000.

Brown said there are more than 100 bridges or crossings in District 1.