Work begins on Route BB bridge over I-70 in Boone County, one of worst in state

Work on the Route BB overpass in west Boone County will repair one of the worst-rated bridges in the state.

Crews will start the months-long process by closing the eastbound Interstate 70 on and off ramps of the bridge Thursday night. Those will reopen Friday morning, then close again for the weekend. The work will ultimately close the whole span of the bridge on Aug. 20 and last until October.

Crews will also close one lane of I-70 in each direction at the bridge starting next Monday morning.

The work will extend the life of the bridge by 10 years, according to MODoT area engineer Mike Schupp. The nearly $800,000 project will repair parts of the bridge deck that give it a “poor” condition rating.

“They have pavement repair to be done on those, basically fixing the bad joints, the broken concrete that’s on the ramps,” Schupp said. “We’re going to do some patch work on the bridge, and then we’re going to put an overlay on the bridge to get us another 10 years of life out of that bridge.”

More than 1,100 drivers use the bridge daily on average, according to MODoT numbers.

The BB overpass on I-70 is one of 26 overpasses that federal highway officials say are in “poor” condition. Schupp said these bridges are safe to drive on but get inspected annually to see if maintenance plans need to be moved ahead of schedule.

Boone County has two other overpasses in poor condition: the Sorrels Overpass in west Columbia and the I-70 westbound ramp onto Business Loop 70 in east Columbia. Schupp said a traffic study is underway on the latter, which will help MODoT decide what the future of the bridge may be. That could include completely removing the bridge. Schupp said if that was the case, MODoT would hold public input meetings on it.

“We’re not just going to close the bridge without having the public vest their opinions on this,” Schupp said.

Schupp said the Sorrels Overpass will patch holes on the deck of the bridge this fall.