The plan to construct a pedestrian bridge parallel to the Highway 76/112 vehicular bridge in Cassville is falling by the wayside.

Richard Asbill, Cassville city administrator, said bids for the project were opened

PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE

What: Plans for pedestrian bridge at 5th Street Bids: Came in at $1.29 million and $1.32 million Outcome: City takes no action, cost considered too high Future: Plan for possible bridge on Sale Barn Road

at the October City Council meeting — and they came in high.

Hartman & Co., which won the bid to construct a new vehicular bridge on 7th Street connecting to the Cassville City Park, bid $1,328,000 for the 5th Street pedestrian bridge. One other bid was submitted, from Mera Excavating in Bonnots Mill, came in at $1,296,679.97.

Asbill said the project has $500,000 in MoDOT TAP grant money avaIlable for use, but the estimated $925,000$950,000 for the remainder of the cost is too exhaustive of the city’s coffers.

“The cost of the 5th Street bridge far exceeds our fiscal resources,” he said. “We have three paths with bids: first, accept a bid; second, reject all bids; or third, take no action. I have advised the council to take no action, because with the TAP grant we have notified MoDOT the bids came in high, so we have to wait for their guidance to go back to the drawing board or form a different scope.”

The scope of the project has been the issue since its proposal, as the original $800,000 expectation ballooned amidst requirements for flood elevation and the American Disabilities Act, among others.

“The scope became so much, and the whole project became larger and needer more engineering,” Asbill said. While the project would be good and aesthetically attractive, using excess taxpayer dollars would limit our opportunities for things like water line replacement and upkeep and maintenance.”

Asbill said instead of a larger bridge on 5th Street, the city aims to pursue alternative locations along Sale Barn Road that would be less costly.

“Once the 7th Street Bridge is in, we will put up signs directing people to cross Flat Creek there, and that would solve the issue,” Asbill said. “A pedestrian crossing is still a major concern because vehicles do not slow down or yield to people walking [on the vehicular bridge]. I think we can work something out on the [other side] that would be an additional benefit to the Greenway Trail.

“We’ll have to determine what we can offer without putting the city at a disadvantage for other needs.”