After several flooding incidents and years of use, an iconic low-water crossing in Jackson City Park was recently replaced.
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, the Hubble Ford Bridge in Jackson City Park was officially opened. The project to replace the low water crossing has taken approximately a year to complete and comes as part of a series of improvements to replace the park's low water crossings.
The project cost $549,538.50 for the City of Jackson, with the contract being awarded in January 2022 to Putz Contruction LLC. of Millersville, Missouri. Designed by Smith & Co. Engineers, the bridge added a pedestrian walkway and a single traffic lane.
The project is just the first in a series of replacement bridges to occur in the park. The next project is to start in September of this year and is expected to take a year to complete.
Public Work Director for the City of Jackson, Kent Peetz, said this crossing needed to be updated for safety reasons, and because of the general deterioration of the crossing.
He also stated that some water rescues have been made at the crossing, making the improvements even more crucial.
"We’ve had people washed off of that bridge down there and we had a close call on a child here with this bridge, so it was very important for safety reasons", said Peetz.
Future bridge improvements like this are also in the works, says Peetz.
"This was just the first low-water bridge that we're replacing. [On] September 6th, we'll be starting another project just downstream from here on Mary Street, replacing another low-water bridge". He expects that project to take about a year to complete.
Progress on Jackson's improvement projects can be found on the city's website.
