Missouri River Bridge opening expected Nov. 14

After a delayed opening, the Missouri River Bridge is expected to be back open by Nov. 14. The Missouri Department of Transportation said Wednesday after speaking with the contractors that they are confident the bridge work will be completed by that date.

The bridge was closed in early May and was scheduled for a 120-day closure. However, MoDOT says, after the workers started blasting away the old paint, they found a larger number of deteriorated rivets needed to be replaced.

Reopening the bridge to traffic will take most of the weekend and will begin Friday Nov. 11, after rush hour with the opening of the westbound bridge. Once the westbound bridge is open, work will switch to the eastbound bridge where the concrete barrier separating traffic will be removed, along with the pavement striping.

Patty Lemongelli, a MoDOT spokesperson, said it would take something very out of the ordinary to delay the opening past the Nov. 14 date. She said after speaking with the contractors and discussing the remaining work they have left, including removing their equipment from the bridge, the November 14 date should be met.

Despite the delayed opening, MoDOT engineers say this maintenance has given drivers another 20 to 30 years worth of use out of the westbound bridge. To replace the bridge would cost the state about $100 million.

When asked about future work on the eastbound lanes of the bridge, Lemongelli said that is not in the foreseeable future.

“The eastbound structure is a newer structure and was built in 1991. We are not at that point where we need to go in and do this type of maintenance. The westbound bridge is obviously a lot older structure. We’ve actually done some of this work previously so it was time to do it again. But as far as the eastbound, we are not going to be jumping over to the other side. I will assure you that is not in the plan.”

Lemongelli also said MoDOT is aware how inconvenient the closure has been to drivers but points out how important updating the bridge is to local commuters and drivers across Missouri.

In the readjusted contract with the contractor, the bridge is expected to be open at 6 a.m. Monday, Nov. 14.