By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull
The community was almost in shock when, in June, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced its intention to close the Business Highway 65/MO 76 Bridge across Lake Taneycomo (the bridge) for a year. The announcement came from MoDOT’s District 8 Transportation Project Manager, Chad E. Zickefoose at the June Partners in Progress meeting held in Hollister.
Specifically, Zickefoose said, “The bridge isn’t in any danger of falling in but the deck is deteriorating fast” and will require repairs which will necessitate the closing of the bridge for “a significant amount of time… in the vicinity of a year plus.” The public response was so overwhelming that the July Partners in Progress meeting was moved to the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks.
That meeting, the first of many held since, was attended by over 200 residents and public officials. Kirk E. Juranas, MoDOT’s District 8 Engineer explained that the problem with the bridge was its deteriorating deck, not the driving surface but the cement deck upon which it rests. He went on to explain that the unique architectural structure of the open-spandrel arch type bridge and the way the cement floor beams are poured as part of the deck prohibits its rehabilitation without its complete closure. MoDOT further pointed out that if the deck was not repaired it would have to be closed.
Since that time, a number of meetings have been held between various local government entities themselves and those entities with MoDOT. In addition, a MoDOT funded Value Engineering Study has been held and the voters of Taney County rejected a retail sales tax increase a portion of which would have been used to fund a new bridge.
At the Dec. 20, Partners in Progress meeting, MoDOT’s District 8 Transportation Project Manager, Chad E. Zickefoose indicated that, based on everything that has transpired so far, MoDOT is basing any alternative actions to the original plan of rehabilitating the current bridge, building a round-about and closing the bridge on the recommended alternative B-10 in the MoDOT Valuation Engineering Study.
That alternative provides for the construction of a new bridge just to the north of the current bridge that would connect to Branson Landing Boulevard. While the new bridge is being constructed the current bridge would remain open. After the new bridge is completed and operational the current bridge would be closed for the better part of a year for deck repair and rehabilitation.
Zickefoose said that if MoDOT cost shares the estimated $18 million cost at a 50 percent level, the remaining cost to finance a new bridge would be about $9 million. Of that $9 million, MoDOT’s District 8 would allocate the approximately $3.5 million that it was going to put into the original bridge rehab and round-about project leaving a gap of about $5 million to come from other sources.
As 2007 comes to a close, after six months of meetings, discussions, and studies, no local entity, except the city of Hollister, which endorses the B-10 option, has made a decision on what if any alternative to the closing of the bridge they want to pursue. Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley said that her board was still studying the issue and Taney County Commissioner Danny Strahan said he wanted to hold public hearings to see how the people feel about the issue.
Another meeting between MoDOT and the various local government entities involved is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2008 at which time it is anticipated that the local entities will have decided on what, if any alternative to the closing of the bridge should be pursued.
