By WHITNEE ICE
St. Joseph Post
31 bridges in poor condition and that are weight-restricted in Northern Missouri are being rebuilt over the next two and a half years.
The Fixing Access to Rural Missouri Bridge Program also known as FARM Bridge Program is replacing these bridges. The FARM Bridge Program contracted with the Lehman-Wilson Team to rebuild the bridges.
Jeff Gander Project Director for the FARM Bridge Program says the bridges being replaced had to meet four different criteria.
“They’re all low volume, but they’re all weight restricted, they’re all narrowed down to one lane, but they carry two-way traffic, they’re all in poor condition and they all sit on timber piling,” Gander tells St. Joseph Post.
Gander says the Lehman-Wilson Team was contracted for the FARM Bridge Program.
“They will start work on designing these bridges in the very near future and they will actually start construction later this year on a few of them but the whole program has to be completed by October 31st of 2023,” says Gander.
Gander says a bridge in Worth County is the oldest bridge they are replacing.
“It was built in 1930 and also that same bridge happens to be the smallest bridge, existing bridge, that we are replacing and the existing bridge was 28 feet long,” says Gander.
There are many counties with bridges impacted by the bridge project include: Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Livingston, and Worth.