“Lewis Road has always been in worse condition and was always intended to be done first,” Whitlock’s statement said. “The 5-Year Plan was prepared by accounting staff who may not have differentiated between the two specific projects (Allen and Lewis) with regard to timing.”

Which bridge?

Someone else apparently mixed up the two bridges: Republican Mark Harder of Ballwin, District 7, the council member who put the item on the April 11 agenda to allow the county to “acquire the necessary property rights to complete Lewis Road Bridge” at the request of Stenger’s office.

“This bridge has been under scrutiny,” Harder said at the April meeting. “It’s falling apart. It’s a health issue. We need to get this going ... It’s a bridge that goes to a subdivision down by Eureka. It’s the only way you can get in and out of this area.”

But Harder now says he was actually referring to the Allen Road bridge, which leads to about a dozen homes and another golf course.

The council receives two or three requests per week to put road and bridge projects on the agenda. Mostly they are “rubber-stamp type situations,” Harder said.