Macon County commissioners are reviewing an application to replace the closed, century-old Crystal Avenue bridge over the BNSF Railway tracks near Ethel, a project estimated at $3.5 million.
Commissioners Dean Still, Matt Shoemaker, and Jeff McLin and Road and Bridge Supervisor Mike Teter reviewed the application for the bridge Sept. 28, according to the commission's minutes. The estimate is based on replacing a 250-foot structure over the railroad, and the cost would be split 80/20, the minutes say. On $3.5 million, an 80/20 split works out to $2.8 million and $700,000.
The bridge is listed as closed to all traffic in the Federal Highway Administration's 2025 National Bridge Inventory, which is compiled from state inspection reports. The steel through-truss bridge was built in 1920, making it the oldest of the 291 bridges and culverts the inventory lists in Macon County.
Inspectors rated its superstructure, the truss that carries the load, a 3 out of 9, or "serious," and its substructure a 4, or "poor." Its deck rated 6, or "satisfactory." The inventory lists its overall condition as poor and recommends replacement because of substandard load capacity or roadway geometry. The most recent inspection in the federal record is from December 2021.
The one-lane bridge is about 237 feet long and 15 feet wide and is owned by the county. It carried about 10 vehicles a day in the inventory's 2024 count. The inventory lists a 5-mile detour.
The federal record carries an older estimate for the work. It lists a total improvement cost of about $1.5 million, figured for 2025, less than half the $3.5 million estimate in the minutes.
The Crystal Avenue bridge is one of 20 Macon County bridges rated poor and one of seven listed as closed in the 2025 inventory. Six of the seven closed bridges are county-owned.
It is not the county's only railroad bridge project. On Aug. 6, commissioners signed progress invoice No. 6 for project BRO-R061 (002), the old highway railroad bridge, and a request to the Missouri Department of Transportation for $2,924.33 in reimbursement, according to the minutes.