County Mobilizes To Quickly Rebuild Collapsed Bridge

A bridge over Brush Creek on Four Mile Road collapsed on Feb. 21, sending both road and bridge districts scrambling to quickly rebuild the structure.

District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast said the collapse happened during routine maintenance. A county dump truck crossed the bridge and it failed.

“The driver was uninjured and MoDOT (Missouri Department of Transportation was contacted,” Boast said.

MoDOT inspected the bridge in April 2023 and gave it an open tonnage rating.

Boast collaborated with Danny Brown, the foreman in District 1, to plan the repairs. Boast and Brown met with MoDOT, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers to get the green light.

The two districts shared resources to get the bridge rebuilt in a span of nine days. District 1 workers rebuilt the structure, while District 2 employees brought in materials and discarded broken concrete.

“The structure is still closed as part of a 28-day concrete cure,” Boast said. 

While the bridge collapse was unfortunate, Boast said the failure showed how the county quickly mobilized resources to complete a rebuild.

Boast leaned on Brown, who has years of experience in obtaining grants for bridges, working with engineers and building them alongside county workers.

Keeping the repair in-house cost the county $40,000. 

In notes shared to the Independent News, Brown estimated that contracting out the work would have cost $80,000 to $100,000. Going through MoDOT would have cost $350,000. 

Had the county waited to use Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation funds (BRO), the bridge likely doesn’t get built until February 2026.

Brown estimates the bridge will last another 50 years. He said it will likely flood again as it is an area where two creeks run together.

Brown is eyeing retirement soon and the county will lose a valuable day-to-day employee, but Boast is hopeful he can keep him around for possible contract work.

Boast, who is running for reelection this year, said he has been attending classes and working on getting his certification to do bridge work. 

The commissioner said cost savings up to 50 percent can be achieved when the work is performed by county employees, but that has to be balanced with daily maintenance.

“If you have four guys building a bridge, that means four less guys you have out there doing maintenance,” Boast said. 

During a recent commission meeting, Boast was questioned by resident Judi Seemiller why there was no police report filed when the truck collapsed into the creek.

“There were no injuries, the county has insurance on the truck and there was no private property damaged,” Boast said. “There was no reason to get the police involved.”