The Cole County Commission approved multiple infrastructure contract awards at its Jan. 8 meeting, moving forward with Tanner Bridge Road safety improvements, a separate bridge replacement on Tanner Bridge Road and sidewalk improvements on Rainbow Drive.

For the Tanner Bridge Road safety improvements, public works reported six bids opened Nov. 21 and recommended awarding the contract to Don Schneider's Excavating, the low bidder, at $1,351,226.36. The engineer's estimate for that project was reported at $1,493,241. The project includes grading, widening and paving along a new alignment and will be coordinated with the bridge replacement work.

For the Tanner Bridge Road bridge replacement, public works reported the engineer's estimate in the transcript as $2,122,380.46 (with a later figure cited as $2,445,467.75 in staff remarks). Funding for the bridge project includes an off-system bridge replacement grant administered through MoDOT/FHWA; staff stated the grant will provide roughly 87.32% of the bridge cost while the county will provide approximately 12.68%.

Public works said the existing Tanner Bridge was constructed in 1960 and is due for replacement. Staff also noted prior credits and in-kind work that reduce the county's net share. Commissioners approved awards and authorized signing of the contracts.

The commission also approved a contract with Concrete Solution LLC for Rainbow Drive sidewalk improvements (bid opened Dec. 5; low bid $352,424). The project is funded by the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant through MoDOT/FHWA with the county providing 20% and the grant covering 80%.

Commissioners praised staff for securing multiple grants and managing the administrative work required to deliver several projects in a short period. Work on these projects was described as planned to begin as soon as contracts are executed and schedules allow.

Next steps: staff will finalize contract documents and coordinate with contractors and MoDOT on schedule and grant compliance.