I guess we must be in what I have heard all my life called "the dog days" of summer. I really do not know what "dog days" mean unless it is hot and humid and one just wants to rest in the shade like a dog. I know that old Gus sure does not want to get out and do much hunting, even though I have two families of raccoons that spend their nights in our yard tearing up the squirrels' corn and eating the bird seed right out of their feeders. Max, our huge "protector" cat, can not even run them off, but he has failed all summer to keep the barn swallows from building on our front porch. It is a bit amusing to watch him down on his back and fight them off as they attack him. Nevertheless, it is normal July weather with hot temperatures, humid nights, and spotty rains that can dump up to an inch of moisture in one area and not hardly a drop just a mile or two away.
The road and bridge department got caught in the rain this past Friday pouring the concrete deck on the new bridge up north and east of Elmo on Road No. 13 or just east of Danube Road on 125th Street. There was only a slight chance of rain in the forecast and the work had been scheduled for several days so they proceeded to get the job going and were finished, had finished and floated the deck off, and then the shower came forcing them to finish it again. Before it was over they had reworked the deck two more times before they got it covered with plastic and then the sun came out so they could get good and hot covering it. The rain did not hurt a thing and this new asset to Nodaway County's infrastructure should be finished within a week or so. This is the same bridge that a picture of their construction efforts setting the beams was on the front page of the local "daily" just a week ago. We all need to be proud of the way our county workers get the job done in a professional and timely fashion.
The commission had a meeting this past Friday with an individual from the Missouri Department of Economic Development concerning a grant we submitted to replace two bridges. We received the funding for both of these two bridges which is a tremendous help to our bridge replacement program. The first is on Road No. 686 east of Clyde on 310th Street west of the Gentry County line. This structure is designed, we will soon go out for bid on all of the necessary materials, and will move forward with construction. The second, No. 28, is up in the Elmo area on 135th Street between Catalina Road and Century Trail. This bridge is not quite ready for the bidding process due to some final planning and paperwork but it should be ready to go soon and we will begin work on it after No. 686 is finished. We never know what kind of weather we are going to experience in the fall here in Nodaway County but these two structures may be the last new bridges we build this year.
This year's only Bridge Replacement Off-System (BRO) structure on Road No. 169, south and east of Hopkins on 142nd Street, east of Missouri Route AC and west of Liberty Road, is getting underway. This bridge is federally funded and was sublet to BRS Construction and Brookfield Box and Bridge. The construction efforts began July 26 and they have 90 working days to complete it.
I believe that it is also important to mention the Missouri Department of Transportation's (MoDOT) Safe and Sound bridge program and how it is affecting our county because it forces folk to find detours, often on our county roads. I am like a lot of people, the Safe and Sound program is actually an oxymoron, and is very misleading. The Safe and Sound structures are bridges that are deficient and need work; after they are repaired or replaced then they will be Safe and Sound. Nodaway County to date already has five bridges in the program repaired with new decks put on.
They include: Missouri Route JJ west of Hopkins on the 102 West Fork; two bridges east of Hopkins on Missouri Route NN, one crossing Honey Creek and the other Brushy Creek; and two bridges in the Quitman area on Missouri Route PP crossing Huff Creek and Maupin Creek.
All five of these projects were repairs with new decks put on, but there are still five replacements scheduled for this year if weather is permissible and funding available. They include: Missouri Route J crossing Sleek Creek; Missouri Route 246 crossing Brushy Creek and Norvey Creek; Missouri Route A over Jenkins Creek; and Missouri Route F on Mozingo Creek.
MoDOT's plans for next year are very aggressive with eight new structures and two re-deck jobs slated for our county. The replacement bridges include five on Missouri Route 113: two at the Nodaway River; one at Cayhoga Creek; one at Bowman Creek; and the final one at Sand Creek. The other three replacements slated for 2011 are: U.S. 71 crossing White Creek Cloud Creek; U.S. 136 over Wildcat Creek; and Missouri Route 246 over Honey Creek. There are also two re-decking jobs slated for 2011 which include: Missouri Route A over the Elkhorn Creek and Missouri Route VV crossing Long Branch.
There is only one project slated for 2012 which is one more new structure planned on Missouri Route 113 at the Nodaway River overflow crossing. This will complete the preliminary 21 deficient structures identified by MoDOT as priority repairs or replacements but we all know there are many more that need attention. I have pointed out many times that Nodaway County leads the state in the number of county bridges, approximately 380, and I am certain that the number of state and federal bridges that cross rivers and streams in our county must also be near the top of the list as well.
I did not mean to digress from county business in this week's report but the state's construction plans affect all of us. We all need to be patient with their efforts when we are commuting or harvesting and plan on detours. I will make an effort next week to outline work on the courthouse and discuss county revenues.
As always, call or come by the commissioners' office with questions and concerns.
–Joe Baumli is the presiding county commissioner of Nodaway County and provides a weekly column for the Maryville Daily Forum
