“It’s open!”

   A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Little Beaver Creek Bridge on Tuesday as it officially opened to the acclaim of residents, government officials, MoDOT, the Phelps County road crew and representatives from the engineering firm that designed the bridge.

   Phelps County Supervisor of Roads Dale Winemiller gave a big grin as he extended his thanks to the road and bridge crew that has been working for months to complete the bridge on County Road 8100.

   “I also would like to thank the public for their patience,” Winemiller said.  “It went a little slower than I expected because of all the rain.”

   The total cost of the bridge has not yet been determined, Winemiller explained, because some cost overruns were incurred by an increase in the cost of materials.

   MoDOT District Design Liaison Richard Pilcher said, “This is the first county in our district who did all the construction of the bridge with their own crew.”

   Pilcher explained that the bridge was partially funded by MoDOT with BRO grants.  Eighty-percent of the cost was paid by the grant, and a portion of the remaining 20 percent will be paid by soft, matching grants.

   The bridge was designed by the engineering firm of Anderson & Associates Consulting, a Rolla company.  It is an HS 20 bridge, which means it has no weight limitations.

   Commissioner District 1 Larry Stratman said, “The skill and experience of our road department allowed the construction phase of this project to move along smoothly.”

   Commissioner District 2 Bud Dean added, “The county has built a lot of this type of bridge in the past — that’s what gave them the expertise to complete this project.”

   Presiding Commissioner Randy Verkamp commented, “This is another step in our bridge construction program that will serve many generations of Phelps County citizens.”