The City of Fayette is applying for grant funding through the Missouri Regional Bridge Program to replace a bridge on North Mulberry Street. The bridge crosses a creek between the Central Methodist University football and practice fields.

The bridge was constructed in 1974. The city states in its grant application that the bridge “is at the end of its service life, and is severely deteriorated and unsafe.”

The bridge has an eight-ton weight limit. The city asserts that school buses and other heavy vehicles, such as garbage trucks and farm equipment that cross the bridge present a significant safety issue. It is lower than the roadway on either end and shows deterioration on the top and underside of the bridge.

If the bridge is closed, it will create a 1.6-mile detour that would take travelers around through a residential area on Givens Road. Such a detour not only poses increases in emergency response times but would limit access to oversized trucks and other extended-length and high-load vehicles.

“It has been rated as ‘poor,’ and the rating has gotten worse and worse on it each year,” said Fayette Mayor Jeremy Dawson during the latest city council meeting on Tuesday, June 13.

The cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $442,500. The grant application was unanimously approved for submission by all four alderpersons who attended the meeting. The grant could pay for as much as 100% of the project’s cost if awarded. The city could have to match up to 20%, depending on how many applicants and funds are awarded, which are announced in the fall.

Another bridge replacement project is expected to be underway soon. Replacement of the bridge on Spring Street adjacent to Daly Elementary School is expected to begin in July. The council approved a bid in the amount of $418,593 from T&B Trucking and Excavating, LLC, a company from Hurdland, Missouri. It was the only bid received for the project.

The bridge replacement will be paid for using the city’s ARPA funds. It is hoped it will be completed before the start of school in late August.

The bridge has been closed to traffic since April 2022, which creates traffic problems for events such as softball games and summer recreation activities. It is normally closed during school drop-off and pickup times in order to allow young students to safely walk to and from school.

The city council meets regularly at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at City Hall.