Locals say Grindstone Creek bridge near Harrisburg is ‘unsafe’

Barry Homan takes the bridge over Grindstone Creek off Highway 124 near Harrisburg nearly every day. He said the bridge has been standing for nearly a century, and is nearing the end of its life.

“This has gotten to the point where it is truly unsafe,” he said. “This is the main thoroughfare all the way to Fayette.”

Concrete supports on the bridge are worn away in some places, and plywood boards support a few feet of concrete on the deck.

Missouri Department of Transportation central bridge engineer Alan Trampe said the bridge is due to be replaced in fiscal year 2018. It is one of the 866 bridges in the central district that are rated as ‘poor’.

“It’s not an unsafe bridge,” said Trampe. “It may look bad because the curbs crumbling, the concrete’s kind of crumbling and there’s some places that are deteriorating.”

Trampe said because this bridge is rated a 4 on the deck due to water saturation, it’s not high priority. Any bridge that is rated below a 3 will most likely be prioritized to be replaced. A 9 on the federal guideline scale is a brand new bridge.

“We have a lot of bridges out there that have 3 ratings that we’re trying to pick the worst of the worst as we set up our replacement and repair programs,” he said. “If we see anything that looks wrong or definitely is in a condition that warrants a closure, we’re going to close it.”

Homan said despite the rating, the bridge should be replaced now.

“We’ve seen them do the work on NN bridge, Perche Creek Bridge, F Route bridges,” he said. “But this one, that leads to all those, isn’t getting touched.”