Arnold has scheduled repair work on two bridges after the Missouri Department of Transportation recommended the improvements.
City Council members voted 6-0 on Oct. 16 to pay PCX Construction of Arnold $321,750 to repair those bridges, which cross over Pomme Creek on Pomme Road and on Ozark Drive. Ward 1 Councilman EJ Fleischmann and Ward 4 Councilman Michael Rethmeyer were absent from the meeting.
James Pogorzelski, interim Public Works director, said PCX submitted the lowest of four bids for the project.
“It is just cleaning them up to lengthen the life of them,” he said of the bridge work. “It is not like they are in any danger of falling down. MoDOT goes out, does their inspections, makes suggestions to do this work, and that is what we are doing.”
Pogorzelski said the city and PCX have not set dates for when work will begin on the bridges, but he expects the two bridge projects will be completed by the end of the year.
“We haven’t had a pre-construction meeting with PCX on the bridge project yet,” he said on Oct. 24. “We will be discussing the timing and potential road closures then.”
Pogorzelski said Arnold owns nine bridges, and MoDOT suggested the improvements to the bridges over Pomme Creek two years ago.
However, when Arnold solicited bids for the work in 2023, only one company submitted a bid, he said, adding that it would have cost the city $430,000 to have the bridges repaired two years ago.
“It is just the state we are in with construction,” Pogorzelski said of the lower price to have the work finished now. “It is more competitive now than it was back then.”
Pomme Road bridge
The bridge on Pomme Road, which is near where the road intersects with Old Lemay Ferry Road, has rust between the bearing plate and the bearings, which has caused the plate to rise about three-quarters of an inch off bearing. The report also said bearings on the bridge need to be repainted to prevent future rust.
Pogorzelski said PCX will complete those repairs and clean the girders.
“The bridge will only be closed when they do the jacking of the structure,” he said. “I’m not sure how long that takes. When we have our pre-construction meeting, we will have the engineer in the meeting. He will give us feedback on this type of work and anticipate how long it takes.”
Pogorzelski said before work begins, the city will formulate a traffic plan if the northbound lanes on nearby Lonedell Road are still closed.
Lonedell Road has been closed to northbound traffic between White Dawn Court and Pomme Road since July 14, and that traffic has been directed to Pomme Road and then to Old Lemay Ferry Road during the partial closure.
Arnold received a Surface Transportation Block Grant from the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council of Governments to help pay for the work on Lonedell Road, which includes widening the road’s lanes, building a sidewalk and installing sewers, curbs and gutters.
The grant covers $1,306,216 of the cost, and Arnold will pay the remaining $978,784 of the $2,285,000 project.
Pogorzelski said it will be a while before Lonedell Road is open to two-way traffic again.
“They are working on sidewalks, curbs and gutters,” he said on Oct. 17. “All of the storm sewers from West Highview to Missouri State (Road) are in. They have not been able to get on the other side of West Highview because Spire is working on Lonedell still.
“We won’t start (the Pomme Road bridge) until we have a traffic control plan.”
Ozark Drive bridge
The bridge on Ozark Drive past the Arnold Paw Parks and near Ozark Hill Mobile Home Park, will have its girders and bearings cleaned and painted.
The bridge was last worked on in 2018, according to a report provided by the city.
Pogorzelski said the Ozark Drive bridge may be finished before the Pomme Road bridge.
“There is not much traffic there, so I don’t think that will be as much of an issue,” he said.
Pogorzelski said both bridges received a five rating from MoDOT, which is one rating higher than what MoDOT considers a bridge in poor condition that needs immediate attention. He said the city does not have any bridges with a four rating, and he wants to develop a maintenance cycle of working on one to two bridges every year.
“If you have the timely scheduled maintenance like this, it can extend the life of the bridge,” he said. “It basically provides more return on your investment. What I want to do is at least hit one or two of them every year with some small maintenance.”
Pogorzelski said the city will pay for the bridge projects with part of its share of Jefferson County’s 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge projects. The county keeps the bulk of the money from the tax to use throughout unincorporated Jefferson County and then distributes the rest to cities based on population and road miles in those cities.
Interim City Administrator Bill Lehmann, who also is the Arnold’s finance director, told the council that the city currently has a balance of about $7.2 million from the county road and bridge sales tax.
Richardson-Old Lemay Ferry
Pogorzelski said the city anticipates opening bids and awarding the contract for improvements to the intersection at Richardson Road and Old Lemay Ferry Road in December.
The intersection will be realigned about 200 feet south of where Richardson Road and Old Lemay Ferry Road currently connect, creating a 90-degree turn instead of the current Y-turn configuration. A dedicated left turn lane will also be added to Richardson Road for access onto southbound Old Lemay Ferry Road.
The improvement project is projected to cost $824,770. The city will pay for 80 percent of the cost through a $659,816 grand it received from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, according to council documents.