BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Engineer Jeremy Manning reviewed requirements for the construction of a new bridge over a creek on County Road 410 at the pre-construction conference held Monday. The conference included the Stoddard County Commission, Smith & Company representatives and Keith Simpson, owner of Keith Simpson Contracting, LLC.
Manning is with Smith & Co. which has the contract for the engineering while Keith Simpson Contracting was awarded the contract for constructing the bridge at a cost of $319,010.90. The bridge is to be an 85-foot single span bridge. The bridge will be 24 feet in width and also have guard rails. The bridge is located northwest of Aid in Castor Township.
Simpson said construction should get underway by Oct. 6 and should be completed by the end of the year.
The new bridge is being constructed to replace an old bridge that was destroyed during a flood in 2011. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is paying 75 percent of the total cost of the project, while 25 percent is required to be paid in local matching funds. The township did not have the funds for the local match, so the county commission decided to use county funds for the 25 percent match, which in turn would allow the county to earn soft money required for off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program (BRO) projects.
Ron Williams, Castor Township board member, said farmers would be glad to see the new bridge completed. He noted that the bridge has been out since 2011. There were several delays in replacing the bridge including application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) by the township which was not received, and gaining final approval from FEMA.
Manning reviewed the terms of the construction with those present which included the responsibilities of all parties involved. Simpson Contracting has 150 calendar days to complete the project after receiving a notice to proceed.
Manning noted that this was not a BRO project, so the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) does not have to approve it. He said this should expedite construction. He did note that since the commission hopes to earn BRO soft match funds for their portion of the project, the bridge has to meet MoDOT specifications, including wage rates and other federal guidelines. A payment schedule from the contractor for payments during construction was also part of the pre-construction documents.
Work during construction of the bridge will be inspected by Smith & Co. Engineer Darren Kincy will be the inspector.
Manning said he did not know if Simpson had built any bridges in Stoddard County previously, but said his firm has done good work on other projects for Smith & Co. Simpson said he had built a bridge in Duck Creek Township several years ago.
Manning distributed an original set of plans and specifications for the bridge to the contractor and to the township. The contractor is to submit to the engineering firm any "changes made from the original drawings."
Simpson asked if there had been any opposition to the bridge from adjoining landowners. Williams said there had not be opposition because most of them needed the bridge.
"The only complaint may be how long it has taken to build a new bridge," responded Williams.
Also present at the conference were Kincy and Engineer Bill Robison with Smith & Co. Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis, Commissioner Carol Jarrell and Commissioner Danny Talkington were all present.
Kincy said he was the inspector for two other bridges under construction in the county. He said bridges on County Road 754 and 784 should be completed within two weeks. He said the only holdup on completion was some dirt that needed to be hauled in to complete the projects.