The public is invited to a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday (Oct. 5) concerning plans to replace a bridge on Hillsboro House Springs Road over Bourne Creek in House Springs.
The Jefferson County Public Works Department will hold the hearing, which will run from 4-7 p.m. at Valley Middle School, 4300 Gravois Road, House Springs.
Information will be collected on plans to replace the bridge, which Public Works Director Jason Jonas said is structurally deficient and in need of replacement.
Jonas said as the three spans continue to age, the rating of the weight of vehicles allowed to pass on them will decline.
The bridge is rated to accommodate vehicles weighing 20 tons or less.
“At 10 tons, the school buses, EMS vehicles and firetrucks won’t go over them anymore,” he said. “That’s why we need to replace them before they get to that point.”
Information at the hearing will be used to draw up plans for the project, which then will be advertised for bids.
The estimated cost of the project is $999,791.
“It’s a million-dollar bridge,” Jonas said. “It will be the first time we will build a bridge with precast concrete arches. We’re doing that because of the creek at the bridge has a severe skew. The creek follows Hillsboro House Springs Road along the west side of the road, then passes under the road at this point and follows the road on the east side.”
Essentially, Jonas said, precast concrete arches will be set in place in the creek and the road bed will be placed on top of them.
“We don’t have clearance from the (U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers to change the channel of the creek, so this will allow us to replace the bridge with the least amount of disturbance. It should also shorten the construction time.”
The bridge carries about 917 vehicles each day.
The cost to build the bridge will be paid for with 80 percent federal money, with the county’s share of a countywide road and bridge 1/2-cent sales tax covering the local match.