HH Bridge will shut down in April

Citizen Staff

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will begin preparations to replace the Highway HH Bridge over Interstate 29 in Platte City beginning April 1.

The work will require complete bridge closure for crews to safely and efficiently replace the structure quickly. In addition, the mainline of I-29 will be closed for one entire weekend to allow for bridge demolition. Crews will close all north and southbound lanes of I-29 beginning at 2 a.m. April 3 through 4:30 a.m. April 5. Traffic will be diverted from the mainline to the on- and off-ramps at Route HH during removal of the old structure. The bridge closure will last approximately three months, weather permitting.

The contract to replace the 51 year-old-structure was awarded to Phillips Grading & Construction, Inc. for $1,046,300. During construction, traffic will have access to Route HH from northbound I-29, and to Main Street from southbound I-29 for the duration of the project.

The ramps will remain open during construction except for temporary, short-term closures to allow the contractor to tie the existing roadway into the new structure. The entire project is scheduled for completion by the end of June.

“We understand the inconvenience closing the bridge will cause the community and will work diligently to complete the bridge replacement as quickly as possible,” said Kirsten Munck, MoDOT area engineer. “MoDOT has taken the appropriate steps to ensure the bridge is back open faster, placing strict penalties on the job in the event the roadway is kept closed longer than the specified number of days. We ask that drivers be patient and allow extra time to reach your destination.”

Crews will replace the bridge through funding received by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which accelerated the $1.1 million bridge replacement into 2010. Currently, the bridge is in poor condition and has faced many emergency closures for repairs.

If the bridge was left as is, the need for costly, unplanned and unscheduled repairs would increase, along with the real possibility that the bridge could be closed indefinitely until complete bridge replacement could be scheduled sometime in the future. This is a long-term fix for the best life cycle cost, offering the best use of tax-payers’ dollars.

For further information about this project and others, please visit MoDOT’s Facebook page at facebook.com/modot.kansascity, Twitter site at twitter.com/modot_kc, or Web site at modot.mo.gov/kansascity. You can also contact MoDOT 24 hours-a-day at 888-ASK-MODOT to find out information or report road concerns.