Tax Will Help Replace 17th Street Bridge

When Trenton residents go to the polls on April 4, one of the issues to be decided will be a three-eighths of a cent (.0375 percent) sales tax to help fund replacement of the 17th Street Bridge.
Trenton city officials, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Missouri Department of Transportation are working together to secure funding for replacement of the 87-year-old bridge, which in recent years has been closed off-and-on due to issues involving the bridge floor.
According to City Administrator Ron Urton, the cost to replace the bridge has been estimated at just over $3.1 million. The city has been able to secure a Community Development Block Grant of $500,000 to help with the project, while MoDOT has committed to around $750,000 in assistance. The railroad, which is not obligated to help pay for the bridge, has agreed to pay for 20 percent of the bridge construction costs, with the city agreeing to close the crossing at 18th and Mable streets.
This would leave the city’s portion at estimated $1,123,000. That amount would include not only bridge construction costs, but the purchase of properties in the area needed to build the bridge along with funds for utility changes in that area due to the project.
Urton noted that current city finances make it difficult for the city to proceed with the project with the funds it has. The grant received by the city for the project is only good through September 2018, which means the city would be required to refund the money back to the state if the project does not move forward before that time.
“The deadline with the grant has kind of driven this project,” Urton noted. “Without those funds, the city would have to come up with $500,000 more and could face losing the money from MoDOT and the railroad as well.”
The sales tax, which has a “sunset clause” of 10 years, would generate an estimated $260,000 annually. Over that 10-year period, the city anticipates receiving $2,600,000. The initial use of the money would be for the bridge project, with any remaining money being placed in a fund for future projects that would be transportation-related.
“We would put together an ad-hoc committee to gather community input about what types of projects the community would like to use the money for,” Urton said. “But our first priority, of course, is the bridge.”
Around 3,800 vehicles per day use the bridge, based on a spring 2017 traffic count conducted by the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission. The current load rating capacity is 13 tons, with the bridge having been designated as “structurally deficient.”
“It hasn’t been closed yet,” Urton said. “But all it would take would be for MoDOT to come in and say the bridge has to be closed and we would have no choice.”
The railroad owns the bridge and pays for any maintenance work that has to be done (usually by the city). Most of the issues in recent years have been due to the deteriorating bridge floor. However, according to Urton, the bridge is also unsafe for pedestrians to use to cross the railroad tracks.
The new bridge will be much higher and longer than the current structure, in order to allow for use by heavier vehicles. Urton said the Trenton Fire Department cannot currently use the bridge when answering a fire call downtown or in the west part of town.
“They have to go up to 18th Street and around to get to where they need to be,” Urton said.
As part of the project, the city plans on closing southbound Lulu Street at 17th Street along with northbound Mable as well as widening the southbound intersection at 17th and Main streets for semi-trucks using that area.
“This should take care of some issues we have with trucks when they get down there,” Urton said.
The city already has a partial design for the new bridge, completed by Olsson and Associates when discussion about replacing the bridge started a few years ago. If the tax is approved, city officials will begin finalizing the design and bidding out the project as well as lining up the financing through bonds that will be paid off with the tax and money from the other entities. The city begin receiving tax funds on Oct. 1.
Urton will be presenting information to the public about the tax issue at meetings of the Lions Club today and the Trenton Rotary Club on Thursday as well as visiting the North 65 Center on Wednesday. He will also be making a presentation at the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on March 29. A public meeting is also planned the week of March 27, however, a date, time and place have not yet been announced.