Highway Z bridge closure adds delays for Gordonville firefighters

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

GORDONVILLE, Mo. (KBSI) — A bridge replacement project on Highway Z in Gordonville is forcing drivers onto detours and adding several minutes to some emergency response times.

The Missouri Department of Transportation started work at the end of August. Crews will replace two aging, single-lane bridges and raise portions of Highway Z by up to five feet.

MoDOT Transportation Project Manager Seji Shimbo said the work will bring the bridges and roadway up to current design standards, including standards for a 50-year flood event.

“We’re proposing to raise the profile grade by up to five feet to make the new bridges and roadway to meet the current design standard, which is a 50-year design flood event,” Shimbo said.

Crews must replace the bridges one at a time because the village sewer system has an access point between them. The construction plan allows workers to maintain that access throughout the project.

MoDOT directs drivers around the closure using state Routes 25, A and F. Some local drivers have also turned to county roads for shorter alternate routes.

Gordonville Fire Chief Michael Gentry said those detours create challenges for his department, especially when firefighters respond to emergencies on the western side of the district.

“I think we’re looking at around a five and seven minute delay for coming from station one,” Gentry said. “We have three stations in our district. Station two is directly one that’s going to be impacted the most.”

Gentry said the detours have also pushed more traffic onto roads that many drivers do not regularly travel.

“Anytime there’s detour traffic, it’s going to be new roads, new places for people,” Gentry said. “People in the community will be familiar with those, but people outside the community are not. And we have a lot of pass-through, cut-through traffic.”

The county commission recently lowered speed limits on some county roads to 35 mph. Crews have also resurfaced some of those roads as they handle increased traffic.

The Gordonville Fire Department relies largely on volunteers and has about 25 members on its roster. Gentry said firefighters often respond from their homes, workplaces or other locations throughout the community.

“We are a volunteer. We have around 25 members on the roster,” Gentry said. “Not all those are active at one time because we all have different jobs — your neighbors, your community members, your teachers, you know, your farmers coming together.”

That structure makes the additional travel time especially important during emergency calls. Gentry said a truck leaving the department’s main station could face an additional five to seven minutes when responding west of the closure.

The department has started coordinating with other fire chiefs across Cape Girardeau County to prepare for emergencies during construction. Gentry said departments can adjust how they respond depending on which agency can reach an emergency fastest.

Gordonville also relies on the county’s mutual aid system for larger calls.

“We run a county mutual aid system, so we’re all mutual aid partners together,” Gentry said. “Any fire scene takes anywhere from 15 people or 30 people. Not everybody gets that at once. So having those mutual aid partners are key to those issues.”

Some Gordonville firefighters can respond directly to an emergency in their personal vehicles with basic medical equipment while trucks travel around the closure.

Gentry said the department recognizes the need for the bridge improvements but wants drivers to use caution on detour routes, especially as more traffic moves onto smaller county roads.

MoDOT gave the contractor until Sept. 1, 2027, to finish the project.