Stakeholders agree on details to fix bridge south of Rolla

Stakeholders involved in the project to fix a higher than anticipated slope on the new County Road 5240 bridge over Beaver Creek south of Rolla being constructed met Jan. 10 to go over the details.

All three Phelps County Commissioners, Dennis Brady, senior construction inspector with the Missouri Department of Transportation, Jason Murphey and James Sutton, both of Great River Associates, the consultant, and Wayne Brenneke, of Brenneke Construction, LLC, the general contractor, met during last Thursday's commission meeting.

Construction on the new bridge has been stopped since November to find a solution to lessen the slope, which was caused when the contractor was building the center pier and used the consultant's plans, which had a discrepancy in the elevations and dimensions.

"We want to still have the longevity and quality that we had before," Murphey said of the project. "We want an end product that will last and what the county expected."

It was agreed that Brenneke would remove the beams on the bridge and make sure they are not damaged in any way. Brenneke was told not to place the beams on top of each other when they are moved because of soil conditions in the area, but Brenneke noted that with nearby overhead utility lines, it would limit where the crane can place the beams.

After the beams are off, the cap on the center pier of the bridge will be entirely removed, the rebar will be cleaned and a new cap, which would be shorter by about one foot, will be poured. Brenneke noted that because of the cold weather, it would be difficult to pour concrete.

It was noted that an inspector from both MoDOT and Great River Associates would be on the construction site every day. Additionally, the elevations would be checked once the beams are set aside.

"It looks like a great plan … if we can just get great weather," said Presiding Commissioner Randy Verkamp.

Wilson noted that after the new cap is poured and the beams are set back in place, the contractor will have 33 calendar days to finish the job.

There will be no cost to the county or MoDOT for the fix. The consultant will bear some of the costs "out of pocket" and will work with Brenneke to address the issue.

Brenneke was awarded the project on a base bid of $299,401. It is not clear at this time how much the fix would cost.

Also at the Jan. 10 meeting, the commission approved a bid of $44,977 from Bendler Boiler and Mechanical Co. to replace two boilers at the county jail.

The bids were opened Jan. 8 and were taken under advisement before the commission approved them Jan. 10.

The only other bid received was from Garner's Refrigeration Heating & Air Conditioning Inc, which submitted a bid of $79,061.78.