Crews to replace Cole County bridge off Highway 50
The Liberty Road bridge east of Jefferson City will soon be replaced to handle more traffic with a major project along Highway 50.
Bids opened for the work Friday at the Cole County Commission meeting.
The lowest bid by Brenneke Construction came in under $414,000, according to Cole County Public Works.
The nearly 90-year-old bridge can only handle a single lane of traffic and cannot carry the weight of most semi-trucks.
“If there’s a serious accident out on 50, a lot of times the traffic’s routed through this route so we want to make sure it can safely handle tractors and trailers,” Cole County Public Works Director Larry Benz said.
Work is set to start this winter. The stronger, two-lane bridge is set to be completed by April 15, 2017.
Public works said the project must be completed before next summer when MoDOT has plans to make major improvements to the Highway 50 and Shamrock/Liberty Road intersection.
“With the improvements that MoDOT’s going to be making on Highway 50 at Taos at the interchange there as well as up at Liberty Road, we’re going to see a lot more traffic on it and we’re just trying to get it done before they make the changes,” Benz said.
