This piece is a sidebar for an article that covered the recent MoDOT public hearing about the planned replacement of the Standing Rock Bridge on Highway 19, south of Salem.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) held a public hearing regarding the planne…
State Representative Ron Copeland was not able to attend the MoDOT public hearing on Standing Rock Creek Bridge in person, but said he had been talking with several people about the issue following the meeting. Copeland said he was working on getting answers to some questions regarding the project. He sat down with The Salem News the day following the hearing to discuss.
“It's kind of like any agency, you know, they’ve got a plan. Do they want to get out of that plan? Let's step back and look at, okay, I know that you're going to put that much traffic on K and KK, the edges, asphalt, the edges are going to peel off, and then they're going to have to come back through and do some maintenance on it,” said Copeland.
One of the possibilities discussed was a temporary half-bridge or low-water bridge that may allow the road to stay open during the construction. MoDOT estimates that an average of 950 vehicles per day cross the bridge. According to MoDOT materials from the hearing, they think that to build a half-bridge would be an improper use of taxpayer funds. Others cite the possibility of damage to the detour route which would cost money to repair anyway.
“So, if you think about it, that may be winter, all year long traffic. Well, in the summertime, it may be a lot more than that. I just think that if we step back and say hey, let’s invest it in something closer, a bypass there at the bridge, low water bridge, or something, instead of having to resurface or do maintenance on that other [route]. How much money is that special attention going to cost us?”
Copeland had questions about the work schedule of the contractors. He spoke about how he was unsure if the contractors would work 24/7 during the 45-day closure, and if not, he wanted to see if there was more money that could be put toward overtime.
“Is there a bonus for finishing sooner? And if they’re not going to work weekends and it’s not in the bid process, is it something that senators and representatives can get some money budgeted to pay for overtime to get the closure to be less,” said Copeland. “I feel if you close a bridge down, it should be a seven-day work week, not an eight to five.”
Copeland said he had been hearing suggestions about the project.
“I know some people made some suggestions that I know of […] just going another 28 feet to the west, building the bridge, and leaving that bridge open, and then tearing it down later. I’m going to look into that,” he said.
Copeland said he would be working with other elected officials to help the project proceed.
“Myself, Justin Brown, Chris Jenkins, and Carla Esslinger, Senator Eslinger, I’ll be working with them to figure out the exact thing, and we’ll be dealing with the decision makers,” said Copeland. “I think elected officials are the ones that represent the community, and it’s our job to go to the people who make the decisions, because you elected us to do that.”
