Work is expected to begin Monday on a new Charter Church Road bridge over Plattin Creek south of Festus and north of Valles Mines.
Jefferson County Public Works Director Jason Jonas said residents of the area will be familiar with the process because a bridge on nearby Mitch Sweet Road was replaced about 18 months ago.
“The two bridges were similar,” Jonas said. “They both were built in the 1970s and were steel I-beam girders. Over the years, because they weren’t well maintained, salt and rust and corrosion have taken their toll. Repainting it won’t help. It needs to be replaced, and it will be in the same way (as the Mitch Sweet Road bridge), with reinforced concrete girders.”
Pace Construction Co. of St. Louis County was the lowest of four bidders for the work and was awarded a $939,000 contract.
The federal government will pay 80 percent of the work, with the county kicking in the rest through its share of a countywide 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge improvements.
The road will be closed until work is complete, sometime in December.
About 400 vehicles a day cross the bridge, according to county records.
“I’d think the residents there will welcome the fact that we’re going to replace the bridge,” Jonas said. “After a state inspection a couple of years ago, the load was reduced to 12 tons, which means it was restricted to one lane.