New plans for repairs to the Cape Girardeau Mississippi River bridge add flexibility to the project for both contractors and motorists.

"We have been busy looking at our options following the recent bid rejection," said Scott Meyer, Missouri Department of Transportation district engineer.

Contractors now have a choice of two proposals to repair the asphalt surface on the deck of the bridge.

Last month one bid was received for repairs, and it was too high.

The original proposal called for a complete resurfacing of the bridge. The large equipment needed to pave the bridge deck means both lanes of traffic would be closed Sundays through Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. That option remains, but a second possibility includes more hand work, smaller equipment and spot improvements.

"The first option requires wider equipment on the bridge, and that doesn't allow as much flexibility," Meyer said.

"With this additional repair option included, we may have more flexibility for addressing transportation problems associated with the temporary evening closures."

Meyer said until a contract is awarded he can't predict what the closing schedule might be.

As a further incentive to contractors, the timeline for either option has been extended to five weeks. Originally the completion time was three weeks.

Meyer speculated that three weeks may have discouraged some bidders from the first round of solicitations.

"We've given them the option to look at the project and see which would be best with their equipment," Meyer said. "Now we have to wait and see what the bids are."

The next bid letting is scheduled Friday. If a contract is awarded, work would start in mid-August. If a contract is not awarded, the repairs would likely be postponed until next spring or MoDOT's own crews could do the repairs on a smaller scale.

"We realize this situation continues to put some folks in limbo, but we will not be able to make a final decision on accommodating traffic until a contractor is on board and we know what option they based their bid on," Meyer said. "The safety of motorists and our workers remain our top priority."

MoDOT continues to look for alternatives for people who need to cross the river on nights the bridge would be closed.

"We are interested in any ideas that people who live and work in the area may have," Meyer said. "Maybe there is some solution we haven't already investigated."

Crews recently completed the quarterly inspection of the bridge and found that repairs made in the spring remain successful. "Structurally we look really good," Meyer said.

Work on the new bridge at Cape Girardeau continues. Meyer expects jet grouting and drilling to resume this week. Those operations were on hold while the river was high.