HANNIBAL – What happens when a large piece of equipment hits an overpass on a major highway? It depends on many factors including speed, location of hit, size of bridge, etc. “Last year, a large piece of equipment being hauled on a trailer hit several girders on the MO 136 overpass on U.S. Route 27 in Wayland near the Flying J Truck Stop, and fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but the bridge did sustain some damage,” said Missouri Department of Transportation Bridge Engineer Travis Wombwell. Although the damage to the bridge girders was not an immediate safety concern, they do have to be repaired. A contract was recently awarded to St. Louis Bridge Company to repair the girder, and they will begin work on Monday, September 18 around 7 a.m.
“The work will take approximately two weeks to complete, weather permitting,” Wombwell explained. U.S. 27 northbound will be open to one lane of traffic and the turn lane on MO 136 will be closed during repairs.
Other than some concrete missing off of the girder, it would be difficult to anyone to notice damage to the bridge. “The impact was great enough to break six of the twenty-four strands of steel inside one of the girders, along with some other damage,” Wombwell said. “The contractor will be working under the bridge to splice these strands back together and make the other repairs,” he continued.
Missouri taxpayers will not have to foot the cost of the repairs, which are estimated to be $90,000. “Most often when state property is damaged and expense is involved to repair the damage, the driver or insurance company is responsible for paying for the repairs,” Wombwell said. This includes smaller items such as repairs to signs along Missouri’s roads.
For information about road work across Missouri, visit www.modot.org.