Missouri’s program to rebuild or replace more than 800 of the state’s worst bridges is almost one-fourth of the way done and picking up speed. A Lee’s Summit contracting company is doing most of the work. In the first fifteen months of the program it has repaired or replaced 192 bridges. The Transportation Department says that’s one bridge every two-and-a-half days.
Department spokesman Bob Brendel says some economies of scale can be applied to most of the projects because the bridges are about the same size and common segments are being used.
He says the average replacement project requires 60 to 90 days but contractor KTU is averaging 39 days for construction of each entirely new bridge. He says the company that hopes to complete more than 160 bridges this year hopes to complete more than 200 of them next year.
The bridges, on average, are about 60 years old.
