The bridge over Spring Branch on Route 76 west of Bradleyville is scheduled to be closed Monday, March 14, and a new bridge built, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.
The new Route 76 bridge over Spring Branch will be built and open to traffic by April 27.
The bridge project in Taney County is part of MoDOT’s Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement program that will replace or repair 802 bridges across Missouri by the end of 2013.
Two other bridges on state roads in Taney County are scheduled for replacement this year:
* Route 125/Brush Creek, south of Bradleyville — Closed May 3 and Reopened by May 23.
* Route 76/Beaver Creek, on east side of Bradleyville — Closed Aug. 5 and Reopened by Oct. 8.
Dates for the projects may change.
Preparing for Route 76 Closing
A detour for the Route 76/Spring Branch project will be signed along Routes 125, 160 and 76.
State highway traffic normally is not detoured onto county-maintained roads. However, local drivers familiar with the area will be able to use nearby county roads for a shorter route around the closed bridge.
MoDOT and contractors have alerted law enforcement, fire and ambulance agencies so they can plan how to respond to emergency calls with the bridge closed. The school district and post office also have been notified so they can adjust bus routes and mail carrier routes if necessary.
The Route 76 bridge over Spring Branch, about three miles west of Bradleyville, was built in 1932.
The old bridge will be replaced by a new pre-cast concrete box-beam structure. The new bridge will be 110 feet long by 28 feet wide. The driving lanes on the new bridge will be about 12 feet wide.
The prime contractor on the Route 76/Spring Branch bridge is KTU Constructors, a group of bridge design and construction companies. The group is replacing 554 bridges of the 802-bridge total in the Safe & Sound program for $487 million.
Kiewit Western Co., a KTU Constructors partner, will build the Route 76 bridge over Spring Branch.
As part of the Safe & Sound program, the road is closed where each bridge is being replaced or repaired. Closing the road enables workers to do the bridge project quicker, safer and cheaper.
