It will be awhile before the State Transportation Commission considers a contract to repair 800 of Missouri’s worst bridges.
Missouri Department of Transportation spokesman Jeff Briggs says MoDOT has asked the commission for up to 60 days to study two proposals. Two teams of contractors have submitted nearly 700,000 pages of documents. As Briggs says, "That is one mountain of paperwork."
It’s the second delay for the ambitious project. MoDOT officials were ready to move forward earlier this year when they discovered that state law wouldn’t allow them to proceed. Legislators made a change in state law during the special session to clear the way for the project to move forward.
The project itself is unique. It asks the successful contractor to pay upfront to fix 800 bridges within five years and then maintain them for the next 25 years. The state will make annual payments to the contractor. The project is estimate to cost between $400 and 600 million.
