Madison County Commission agrees to let GRE apply to assess bridge on 419

The steel bridge on Madison County 417, near Zion, was built in 1922. Jeremey Manning, Submitted photo

The Madison County Commission agreed to allow Great River Engineering (GRE) to apply for a Bridge Engineering Assessment (BEAP) study for a decaying bridge that received a negative review from MoDOT during its routine inspection. It may lead to its repair.

The steel bridge on Madison County 417 was built in 1922. It is about 13 miles south of Fredericktown, near Zion. Commissioner Larry Kemp said 10-ton logging trucks run over it, and a report said around 50 cars a day.

GRE Director of Client Services Jeremy Manning visited the commission on their weekly meeting last Monday. After his own look at the bridge, he said he was surprised at the weight-limit assigned it. He talked about advantages of the free BEAP test.

Manning noted several structural issues, including pack rusting, section loss due to rust, and metal flaking in layers. He said they are common problems in many bridges, especially with salt exposure, which runs off after being placed for bad weather.

“You salt it in the winter, and then it stays there, and over time it erodes,” Manning said.

“A lot of those primary rivets have got some severe corrosion going on,” he said. “There’s not much left.”

Manning, who has experience with welding, said an option could be to plate parts of the bridge by closing it off for a short time.

Manning has a long history with Madison County, designing six bridges with his previous firm, Smith & Co., and working on bridges for at least 15 years, he said. He said GRE does over 50% of county road bridges in the state, and has a fast turnaround time.

MoDOT started the BEAP program to address Missouri’s bridges outside the basic road system, which often cost too much to repair for smaller counties alone. It is “with the expectation that the local public agency would implement the recommendations from that study,” MoDOT’s website says.

BEAP can often lead to favorable selections for the Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation (BRO) program, under which the state pays 80% of the cost of a new bridge project. Madison County successfully applied for one in 2023, and won credit to help pay off $1.1 million. They are MC 252 near Castor River and 504, near Barnes Creek.

Manning offered to perform a bridge assessment on 417 if chosen by MoDOT, so he could provide specifics on whether it could be fixed, how, and whether it would be cheaper to replace it. He said GRE has already submitted an application, and while they are running out of BEAP funds for this cycle, MoDOT will keep the same application for the next one in June.

Manning said it was complicated to decide, since new bridges aren’t always better than old ones. “I’ve seen multiple 100-year bridges that are still around, more so than 1980s bridges, which have eroded,” he said.

He said, “You might fix the steel on a bridge and give it another 30 years, but it could cost over $100,000 to fix the decks, at $350 per square foot.”

If a new bridge costs $800,000 but is funded mostly by the BRO program, it may cost Madison County only $100,000 to build, making it the more financially attractive option for the county. Manning said, “You might as well spend extra money on a bridge to make it 50 years instead of six years.”

The commission agreed to let him apply for the BEAP test, which does not guarantee he will get it, but agreed it would be useful.

Other county commission news

Road and Bridge Supervisor Shannon Spain gave a report on the re-opening of the bridge on Madison County 320 this week. He also said Bridge 530 will open soon, the last of the FEMA-closed bridges.

Although the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) has ended, it will not officially close out until the last remaining organization pays its final bill to it.

County Clerk Don Firebaugh said there will be at least two votes on the April ballot, though the SB3 is still contested. The other is the senior tax.

The commission confirmed that the 911 Tax voted on by citizens from the ballot in November will begin in April, two months earlier than previously anticipated.