Several lettered-route bridges within the Green Hills Region are to benefit from federal money that Congressman Sam Graves announced will be forthcoming to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Each of the targeted bridges has a poor condition rating. Graves received notification from the U.S. Department of Transportation that Missouri will receive $20.7 million for the proposed Fixing Access to Rural Missouri (FARM) Bridge Program. All bridges proposed to be replaced by the program are located in MODOT’s Northwest and Northeast Districts.
Two bridges are in Grundy and Sullivan counties, one in both Putnam and Livingston, and five in Linn County. Overall, 41 are listed in the report.
In Grundy County, there are bridges on Route W over Gee’s Creek and Route N over No Creek. In Sullivan County, it’s Route C over Yellow Creek and Route E at West Locust Creek.
Others listed for repairs are the bridge at Shoal Creek of Route C in Livingston County and the bridge over Medicine Creek Fork on Route M in Putnam County. Linn County bridges include those on Routes B at Smoky Branch, Route C at Long Branch, another on Route C at West Yellow Creek, Route WW at Van Dorsen Creek and on Highway 139 at Lewis Creek.
Counties with other bridges targeted for funding include Adair, Atchison, Chariton, Gentry, Lewis, Macon, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Warren, and Worth.
Congressman Graves said replacing these structures consumes a large amount of transportation funding which he noted takes away from other important projects. Securing additional funding for rural roads and bridges has been a top priority of Graves and he added in the statement “these bridges are critical to the movement of goods and services in north Missouri.”
Weight restrictions and lane reductions on farm-to-market roads adversely affect farm machinery, school buses, and emergency vehicles. The Congressman applauded MODOT’s focus on replacing these bridges and he looks forward to seeing them constructed for what he called the continued safety and economic vitality of North Missouri.
