The Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) Fixing Access to Rural Missouri (FARM) Bridge Project uses the design-build alternative delivery method to replace 31 bridges in Missouri’s northwest and northeast districts. These bridges were weight-restricted, built on timber pile, in poor condition, and have one lane on routes that carry two lanes of traffic. The oldest bridge to be replaced was built in 1930. The project included detailed maintenance of traffic plan that guided the development and implementation of traffic control at 31 individual sites. The construction is accelerated by minimizing the duration of work and utilizing full closures at each location with public engagement and detours.

Wilson & Company pioneered using the “simple for dead load, continuous for live load” (SDCL) design methodology in Missouri. SDCL allows for the construction of bridges with longer service lives and lower maintenance costs. Additionally, this has allowed the team to use shallower girders on the structures, eliminating the need to raise the road elevation and thus accelerating construction.

Wilson & Company is the lead design firm on this design-build project.