The Missouri Department of Transportation is getting ready to fix a bridge just south of Cape Girardeau after it was damaged by a truck in October.

Stan Johnson, MoDOT area engineer, said the portion of bridge that supports southbound Interstate 55 just south of Cape Girardeau near the Cape Girardeau Regional airport isn't damaged enough to pose a significant danger to travelers but is too damaged to be left alone.

"It's not an urgent-type thing where we have to drop what we're doing, but we're working on it," he said.

A driver of the Dutch Enterprises truck was traveling east on Highway 74 on Oct. 24 after having unloaded most of a tankful of grease. The truck's tankard wasn't completely lowered, and it struck a bottom girder of the I-55 bridge.

Johnson said MoDOT is planning on putting it in the January budget, and the repairs will probably begin in March.

"We are putting together a contract to repair the bridge," he said.

MoDOT engineers first looked into possibly straightening the dented beam and avoiding major repairs.

"The beam is definitely going to have to be replaced. We can't straighten that one," Johnson said.

The problem, he said, is the damage is to a composite beam, and the deck and the beam are formed together.

This means any repairs will have to take into account the studs welded on top of the beam, not just the beam itself.

The shoulder of the bridge has been marked with traffic cones since the accident, but traffic has not been diverted.

Johnson said the inconvenience to travelers will be minimal when the eventual repairs begin.

"We'll have to shut down that lane, the acceleration lane," he said. "But we should be able to keep the two lines of the highway open. That will be subject to the final designs, of course, but as of right now we think we can keep those open."

Johnson said MoDOT still is putting estimates together, and an exact price won't be available until the contract is awarded.

"I think I can say with confidence that the repair's final cost is going to be over $100,000," Johnson said.

Johnson said it was too early to determine whether the trucking company will be expected to help pay for any of the repairs.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627