The pedestrian bridge on Jefferson College’s Hillsboro campus is expected to be replaced over the summer.
Members of the Jefferson College Board of Trustees voted unanimously Dec. 7 to award a $558,390 contract to Brockmiller Construction in Farmington to demolish the existing bridge and build a new one to replace it. The company approved the lowest of six bids for the project.
The bridge spans the main roadway through the campus and connects the area near the Red Parking Lot between the Early Childhood Center and the Field House and the area near the Student Center.
College President Dena McCaffrey said the bridge needs to be replaced because of its age, not because of concerns that it can’t bear the weight of pedestrians walking on it.
“The current pedestrian bridge is over 50 years old,” she said. “Although the bridge is not considered unsafe, it is in need of some safety improvements, including higher fencing and better railings. It will also meet today’s standards of accessibility.”
John Linhorst, interim senior director of operations, said the ramp to the current bridge doesn’t meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
“(Those standards) require a more gradual slope than the current ramp has,” he said.
Linhorst said work on the bridge replacement is scheduled to start after classes end this spring and be completed by August when classes resume for the fall semester.
“There are two parts to the bridge project,” he said. “The demolition will be after commencement (in May). The bridge will be manufactured off site and brought in. They anticipate it will be ready for the (fall) semester.”
Many Jefferson College students, staff and visitors rely on the bridge to safely cross over the road, Linhorst said.
“The bridge is used daily,” he said.
“This is a very visible part of our campus, so we are excited to have the new bridge,” McCaffrey said.
Other expenditures
Also at the Dec. 7 meeting, the trustees awarded a $168,973 contract to Integra Construction in St. Charles to remodel the nursing office suites in the Career and Technical Education Building on the Hillsboro campus. Integra submitted the lowest bid of nine for the project.
“The remodeling should be done in mid-March 2024,” Linhorst said.
In addition, the board agreed to pay Sentinel Emergency Solutions in St. Louis $52,170 for a breathing air module system for the Area Technical School Fire Science Program. The bid was the lowest of three for the equipment.
The purchase will allow students to train with an air purification and breathing air tank filling system and learn proper techniques and standard operating procedures for equipment used in the fire science industry, according to the staff’s written report.
“There is some lag time on orders like this and we’re expecting it to arrive in mid-March 2024,” Linhorst said.