Greenwood Bridge Reopens

The Clay County Highway Department will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony later this month to celebrate the reopening of the Greenwood Bridge over the Fishing River. The Clay County Commission will be in attendance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, July 29, at 9:00 am. This month’s ceremony is the culmination of almost five years of work.

Originally built in 1935, the Greenwood Bridge was 13 feet wide and 218 feet long. In August of 2017, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) closed the bridge after inspectors found advanced rusting and section loss in critical stress areas. 

Clay County contracted with Great River Associates of Springfield, Missouri to design the bridge replacement and perform inspections; Boone Construction Company of Columbia, Missouri handled bridge construction.

The new bridge is a two-span, pre-stressed concrete girder bridge, and at 24 feet wide, it nearly doubles the width of the previous bridge. The project also raised and reinforced 200 feet of roadway that frequently flooded and washed out.

The cost of the bridge replacement was paid through the Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation (BRO) program. BRO is funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and administered through MoDOT. The Greenwood Bridge project qualified for 80% federal reimbursement under the BRO program. The remaining 20% was paid by Clay County’s soft match credit.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story