Highway 136 bridge closing for replacement

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
The 88-year-old bridge over the East Fork of Little Tarkio Creek near the Nodaway/Atchison county line on Highway 136 west of Burlington Junction will close later this month for reconstruction, which is expected to last through the end of November. Motorists will be directed around the closure onto Route N and highways 46 and 113 via a signed detour.

TARKIO, Mo. — Missouri Department of Transportation crews are scheduled to begin work to replace the Highway 136 bridge over the East Fork of Little Tarkio Creek at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Workers will close the bridge to all traffic at that time, and the crossing is to remain closed through at least the end of November.

Motorists will be directed around the closure onto Route N and highways 46 and 113 via a signed detour.

Built om 1929, the bridge is located in Atchison County just west of the Nodaway County line. The new span will be located on the same alignment and will be 32 feet wide with 4-foot shoulders.

This is 12 feet wider than the current bridge, which does not have any shoulders.

The new bridge will also be a single span with no middle support, a design intended to reduce the amount of debris that currently accumulates against the central piers when the creek rises.

According to MoDOT estimates the bridge serves more than 900 cars and trucks daily.

The department has contracted the rebuilding effort to Columbia-based Boone Construction Co. All work schedules are dependent on the weather and subject to change.

For more information, call the MoDOT information line at 888-275-6636 or view the department’s online traveler information map at www.modot.org/northwest.