A western Texas County bridge was destroyed Saturday — tinhorns ripped out of the ground — for the second time in less than a year.
The Roubidoux Road bridge — with urging from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers —was dismantled after the concerns arose about erosion and damage to the stream. That section of the roadway sustained damage in April after heavy rainfall hit the area.
A more than $22,000 new bridge was demolished last July after weight limit concerns were raised and two board members voted to remove it. A tinhorn structure was later built. The meeting to approve the demolition was an illegal session of the board, the Missouri attorney general’s office later determined.
According to Shelly Carter, Missouri state program manager, with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the last structure may not meet all of the general and regional conditions. The information is contained in an April 4 letter to Upton Township and Clarence “Rocky” Dailing, who constructed the second bridge at the order of the two board members.
“It is interfering with stream flow. It does not meet Corps of Engineers requirements,” said Keith Roberts, township board president. The tinhorns and material were removed Saturday.
“The Corps of Engineers told us if we clean all of that out, we can leave the abutments up (from the first bridge) for the possibility of future replacement of the deck,” he said.
Roberts, who was not on the board at the time of the two previous bridge projects, said the structure had earlier been closed by the Texas County Commission after heavy rainfall in April. “It was blocked off by order of the commission because it had eaten out the west end, the M Highway end, of the road, so it was impassible. We set up roadblock signs and emergency tape,” explained Roberts.
On Saturday, Roberts said an assessment will be made about the abutments for future construction. Upton Township does not have funds to undertake another bridge project, he said. Taxpayers’ money won’t be flowing again into township coffers until another tax season begins.
A backhoe carefully pulled the tinhorns out the ground after a top layer of rock was removed. The decision to remove them comes after more than a year of controversy in the township.
■The board is now comprised of mostly new representation after an election last month.
■The Missouri attorney general says taxpayers were not properly notified last July when two members of the Upton Township board decided to destroy and replace it.
The finding is contained in a letter received by the township board and the Texas County prosecutor.
No action was ever taken.
■Separately, Dailing sued the county commission and the county’s 17 townships claiming that the county’s method of distributing aid violates state law. The matter is pending.
Under the township form of government, roads and bridge work is done by the county’s townships.