HENRIETTA, MO - The Missouri Department of Transportation will begin work on Ray County's first Safe & Sound Bridge, the Route H Bridge over Willow Creek, just west of Henrietta, MO. Complete bridge closure is necessary to replace the more than 50-year-old structure. Crews will close the bridge by Monday, May 18 for no more than 31 days, reopening the bridge by Wednesday, June 17.

            RA Knapp and Sons was awarded the contract in April and will begin mobilization on Monday morning, requiring complete bridge closure. The 242 motorists using this route will need to find an alternative. No signed detour will be in place during the closure.

The Safe and Sound Bridge Program will improve 800 of Missouri's worst bridges in five years.  In the Kansas City area, MoDOT will replace or repair 145 bridges, with 22 in the Ray County area. Complete bridge closure is necessary as it allows the contractor to complete the work quickly and get the bridges back open faster. It also keeps our costs down by minimizing the need for additional right of way and for costly roadway work. Every bridge that's closed during construction allows us to work on another bridge in need of attention. Once the bridge is closed, the contractor has no more than 54 days to reopen the bridge to traffic.

There are 10,276 bridges in the Missouri state highway system - 7th largest total nationwide. Approximately 1,100 of them are in poor/serious condition. The Safe & Sound Initiative will address most of these ailing bridges.

For more information about the Safe and Sound Bridge Program, please visit our website at http://www.modot.mo.gov/safeandsound/index.htm.

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