Rustic road bridge fate unknown

Residents living near the Rustic Road bridge are still waiting to find out the fate of the old bridge they’ve been driving across for years. The 80-year-old bridge is in disrepair and needs to be demolished. The Boone County Commission will seek bids to replace the bridge next week.

Rustic Road residents said the future of the bridge has been up in the air for about five years. Boone County has built a temporary bridge for vehicles over 3 tons. But residents said the temporary bridge isn’t doing so well either. The 5 inches of rain Columbia saw on Labor Day washed the bridge out. Residents said the county did have the temporary bridge fixed quickly, but after years of having a dilapidated bridge, residents said they’re just anxious to have a permanent fix to the problem.

“My hope is that we get it done before the unpredictable winter weather hits and then it becomes more of a safety issue. You know, as the roads get slick, and everything else, and muddy that they can get it fixed before all that hits us,” said Stuart Spradling, a Rustic Road resident.

The Rustic Road Bridge project has had some trouble taking off. Officials said the County Commission has already had a bid meeting but only one contractor placed a bid. The estimate was $150,000 over the county’s budget for the project- so the county passed.