MoDOT will be accepting input from the public on the Standing Rock Creek Bridge project until Oct. 13. MoDOT held a public hearing on Sept. 28 at the Salem Community Center @ The Armory, where MoDOT engineers and project managers heard the many concerns brought forth by the public and elected officials regarding the project, which will replace the century-old bridge that sits just north of Gladden on Highway 19.
The Dent County Commission and Missouri State Representative Ron Copeland have said they are working on avenues that may yield a more equitable arrangement regarding the closure and replacement of the bridge, which MoDOT says will be closed for 45 days. The exact timeframe for construction is not yet known, but MoDOT has said in project materials that they anticipate bids being let out in January.
Options are being discussed for rerouting traffic around the bridge. One option discussed early in the project would have seen a temporary single-lane bridge constructed alongside the site of the current bridge, which would allow traffic to continue along Highway 19 without the requirement of a detour. As of the hearing, though, it seems MoDOT is planning in a different direction, saying a temporary bridge would be an imprudent use of taxpayer resources. Now, MoDOT is considering routing traffic down 19 and onto Routes K and KK, which would take traffic down into Akers, and up the Devil’s Backbone, which refers to a portion of Route K which had no shoulders and features sheer drop-offs. Those drop-offs offer spectacular views, but according to discussion from the hearing, many feel that the area would be too dangerous to handle all traffic from Highway 19, especially 18-wheelers.
“Nothing is set in stone”, MoDOT area engineer Preston Kramer told The Salem News during an interview at the hearing on Sept. 28. For full coverage of the hearing, look for “MoDOT received input for Standing Rock Creek Bridge project, comment period still open” (attached to this article).
