Bids opened for new CR 410 bridge

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Keith Simpson Contracting, LLC, of Benton, Mo., was the apparent low bidder on construction of a new bridge on County Road 410 in Castor Township. The Stoddard County Commission opened four bids on the project at their regular meeting Monday, but did not take action. Smith & Company Engineers of Poplar Bluff, the engineering firm for the project, will review the bids before the contract is awarded for construction of the bridge.

Keith Simpson Contracting submitted a base bid of $319,010.90. The bridge is to be an 85-foot single span bridge. The bridge will be 24 feet in width.

Other bidders and their base bids were: Robertson Contractors, Inc. of Poplar Bluff, $344,670; Robertson Bridge and Grading, Inc. of Poplar Bluff, $332,881.40; and Joe's Bridge and Grading, Inc. of Poplar Bluff, $334,540.50.

"We had some very good bids," Engineer Jeremy Manning stated. "I'm relieved."

Manning said Smith and Company allowed three different types of bridges in the specifications to allow bidders to come in with as low of a cost as possible. The base bid by Keith Simpson Contracting was for a press-stress box beam bridge made of concrete.

The bridge on County Road 410 has been out since it was washed away during flooding in 2011. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agreed to provide funding for a new bridge following the flooding. Subsequent erosion made a longer bridge necessary. An application by Castor Township for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) was made to help pay the required local match for the new bridge. That funding did not materialize.

The commission decided to pay the local match to obtain the FEMA funds so that the county share of funding would count as soft loan money under the federal BRO program. The county has to provide matching funds to rebuild bridges under the BRO program, and those funds are getting hard to find. They have traded hard money for soft loan funds in the past, but many counties are unwilling to trade presently. To receive soft loan credit, the county had to have the bridge meet BRO specifications, which included widening the bridge to 24 feet, installing guard rails and other changes that drove the cost of a new bridge higher.

FEMA officials originally balked. After considerable discussion and the submission of a lot of paperwork by Castor Township, FEMA approved the new bridge. Township Board Member Ron Williams was instrumental in submitting the required paperwork and working on the project since the bridge was washed away.

Manning said Smith & Company has worked with Keith Simpson in the past.

"I believe you will be satisfied with him," said Manning. "He is easy to work with."

Commissioner Danny Talkington asked what the completion date for the CR 410 bridge would be. Manning said MoDOT would have to look over the specifications and there was environmental assessments that had to be completed. He said it would probably be mid to late November.

Other bridges under construction

Talkington asked about work on bridges on County Road 784 and County Road 754. The contract for building those bridges went to Joe's Bridge and Grading, who was the low bidder.

Manning said the piles had been installed for the bridge on CR 784, and that metal beams should arrive by the middle of next week. He said they were beginning to install the piles on CR 754. Both projects are progressing quickly, he said.