The bridge over Cowskin Creek on Route 14 west of Ava is scheduled to close Monday, June 20, so the bridge can be replaced, the Missouri Department of Transportation announced this week.
Once closed, the road will remain closed through the remainder of June and through most of July. The new bridge on Route 14 over Cowskin Creek is scheduled to open to traffic by July 27.
This bridge project in Douglas County is another 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 in Douglas County are scheduled for replacement this year.
The Route 76/Beaver Creek Bridge southwest of Ava will be replaced Aug. 1 to Sept. 14.
Also, the Bryant Creek Bridge on Highway 76 east of Ava will be replaced Sept. 19 to Nov. 11.
A third bridge on Route 14 over Fox Creek west of Gentryville is currently under construction. That project is scheduled for completion July 29.
Two other bridges in Douglas County have been replaced under the program this year. Douglas County Route B over Bryant Creek near Mount Zion was opened April 12 and the Route 76 bridge over Red Bank Creek near Vanzant was opened May 24.
Preparing for the Road Closing on Hwy. 14 at Cowskin Creek
A detour for the Route 14/Cowskin Creek project will be signed along Douglas County Route O, Route 76 and Route 5.
MoDOT reminds motorists that 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 post office also has been notified so they can adjust mail carrier routes if necessary.
The Route 14 bridge over Cowskin Creek, about three miles west of Ava, was built in 1923.
The old bridge will be replaced by a new pre-cast concrete box-beam structure. The new bridge will be 160 feet long and 30 feet wide with two-12 foot wide driving lanes.
The prime contractor on the bridge project 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.
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.
