The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission of the Missouri Department of Transportation approved a contract last week to improve 10 bridges, eight of which are in the Columbia area.

According to a MoDOT news release, the cost of the project will be $2.9 million.

The locations, all of which are between Stadium Boulevard and Broadway, include Route WW bridges over Hominy Creek and Route 63, the Route 63 northbound lanes over Hominy Creek and Grindstone Creek, the Route 63 northbound and southbound ramps over Hominy Creek, and the Route 63 northbound and southbound lanes over Stadium Boulevard.

The improvements and repairs will be relatively minor because all of the bridges are listed as meeting current acceptable minimum standards set by the National Bridge Inventory Database, meaning that they do not have any serious structural issues.

Mike Dusenberg, transportation project manager for MoDOT, said that although the department expects some delays during the construction, it hopes to avoid major traffic issues.

“The intent is for the contractors to avoid working on the bridges during morning and evening rush hours,” Duesenberg said.

The Route WW bridge over Hominy Creek will be the only closed bridge.

Dusenburg said most of the construction will be completed during the summer, before fall semester classes and football season start up again. All of the work is scheduled to end by November, and the Boone County portion of the project should be finished by August.

The renovations will involve maintenance work to improve roadway problems. Most of the work will involve removing existing asphalt and patching concrete to create a smoother driving surface.

Some of the the bridges’ guardrails will also be repaired. Dusenberg said there will be no need for structural changes or replacements because all the bridges are in “satisfactory condition.”

The construction will be done by APAC Missouri, LLC, a Columbia-based company that entered the lowest bid for the contract.