Bridge work to close north Columbia road for rest of month

Repairs to a north Columbia bridge will close the road and a trail underneath it for the rest of October.

Construction crews will be working on the bridge deck on North Creasy Springs Road over Bear Creek starting on Monday. Boone Construction will replace the bridge deck, modify guardrails and overlay the asphalt. The work is scheduled to last until Oct. 30 at a cost of $135,000.

Public Works has eyed the repairs for more than a year, Engineering Manager Richard Stone said. The bridge deck, or the road that’s held up by the bridge, has holes in it that are currently patched with metal plates. While the structural integrity of the bridge is fine, Stone said, the work will stop the deck from worsening.

“It’s deteriorated to the point where we need to do something to it,” Stone said of the deck. “And if we didn’t do something to it, then it would continue to deteriorate at a more rapid pace.”

Creasy Springs Road will be closed just south of Prairieview Drive and just north of the Bear Creek Trail parking lot. The Bear Creek Trail itself will be closed under the bridge, and trail users will need to cross Creasy Springs Road to continue on the trail, Stone said.

The trail will reopen for the Bear Creek Half Marathon on Oct. 14.

ABC 17 News has reported on the problems plaguing the bridge, and residents’ fears about the current state of it. A University of Missouri study offered ideas for a bridge maintenance schedule to extend the life of bridges, and avoid having to make expensive bridge repairs often.

Stone said the department has not had a chance to work the study into its operations. The timing of its release came at a busy time for Public Works.

“We were right in the heart of construction season, so we really haven’t had a chance to set that schedule yet, but we will be doing that over the winter and then following up in the spring and summer,” Stone said.