Missouri announces completion of rural bridge program

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On Friday, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced it had completed its rural bridge program.

The last of 31 bridges opened in northern Missouri in October, all part of the Fixing Access to Rural Missouri (FARM) Bridge Program. The program replaced the bridges that were weight-restricted, supported by timber piles, in poor condition or were only one lane, but carried two-way traffic.

The $20.8 million project was funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s 2018 Competitive Highway Bridge Program, as well as $5.2 million from the MoDOT.

“Rural roads and bridges matter. These roads are critical for farmers transporting grain and livestock to market, kids taking the bus to school, and first responders getting to emergencies in time. I was proud to work with MoDOT, Governor Parson, and President Trump to get these 31 one-lane timber pile supported bridges in north Missouri replaced with new, safer, two-lane bridges,” U.S. Rep. Sam Graves said. “Completing these new bridges is a big step forward for north Missouri and I’m going to continue working to rebuild our rural roads and bridges.”

Lehman-Wilson won the design-build project in the spring of 2021. Design-build projects allow one contracting team to design and build highway improvements under one contract, where MoDOT provides project goals, budget and schedule, and the contractor completes the work. The construction method has been shown to save time and money.

“These bridges were in desperate need of replacement but were historically difficult to prioritize because of funding constraints,” MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna said. “This grant program allowed us the opportunity to take care of this work and truly improve access across northern Missouri communities.”