Clay County Celebrates Opening of New Greenwood Bridge

On Friday, July 29, the Clay County Commission, along with County Administrator Dianna Wright, the Clay County Highway Department, Great River Associates and Boone Construction Company cut the ribbon for the completion of the new Greenwood Bridge over the Fishing River.  The celebration recognizes nearly five years of hard work.

The original Greenwood Bridge opened in 1935.  In August of 2017, MoDOT inspectors closed the bridge because of advanced rusting and section loss in critical stress areas of the bridge. 

At 24 feet wide, the new Greenwood Bridge is nearly twice the width of the previous bridge.

“People now have the ability to get across here with farm equipment, school buses, and regular traffic, so this is a really great upgrade” said Clay County Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte.

In addition to widening the bridge, the project also raised and reinforced 200 feet of roadway that frequently flooded and washed out.

Clay County hired Great River Associates of Springfield, Missouri to design the bridge and perform inspections.  The County also contracted with Boone Construction Company of Columbia, Missouri to handle the construction.

The total project cost is $1.25 million. The County was reimbursed 80% of the cost through the Federal Highway Administration’s Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation program, which provides funding to counties to replace or rehabilitate deficient bridges.  The remaining 20% was paid by the County’s soft match credit.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story