City to hear report on Washington Avenue bridge

During its work session today, the Sedalia City Council will hear from Olsson Associates about the recent Washington Avenue Bridge study.

The bridge, built in 1911, was closed in early December after engineers found it to be unsafe. The city has two options for the bridge, said Public Works Director Bill Beck: Repair or rebuild.

“We know there’s significant damage to the bridge, and I’m expecting (Olsson) to tell us that bridge can’t be repaired,” Beck said. “But we’ll have to wait until they give their recommendation.”

Another issue concerning the repair or replacement of the bridge is funding.

“That street is considered a local street, so that limits us from receiving grant dollars,” Beck said. “We need to figure out the smartest way to spend our money.”

Beck said the public works department and council also will seek advice from the fire and police departments, should the bridge need to be rebuilt.

“If we have to completely rebuild, that same spot may not serve our needs as well as another location can,” Beck said. “Obviously, that bridge is a major connector to the north side of town and we need to be able to get across the train tracks quickly. This is just the first step in the process for the bridge. We want to make sure we’re looking at every possible option.”

The council also will hear a proposal of building an office for administrative staff at Crown Hill Cemetery.

“Right now the office is actually in a house,” said City Administrator Gary Edwards. “Even though the house is right across the street from the cemetery, it’s hard to find because it looks like just another house. I’m going to introduce this discussion about building a new office and storage shed on the cemetery grounds.”

Edwards said planning such a building will depend on the city’s budget, and no action would be taken on the proposal at the work session.

The work session will start at 6 p.m. in the mayor’s conference room, 200 S. Osage Ave. For more information, call 827-3000.