MoDOT wraps I-70 bridge project

Just one year and two days after the groundbreaking, the Missouri Department of Transportation wrapped up their I-70 Bridge Project in Columbia. The $18 million project finished about two months ahead of schedule.

The project included new bridges at Rangeline, Garth Avenue, and the Business Loop. New interchanges were also built at Rangleline and the Business Loop.

MoDOT used a “design-build” method, combining the design and construction phases into one contract, saving time and money.

“We really got great value for the tax payer dollar on this,” MoDOT engineer Travis Koestner said. “The improvements at Business Loop and Rangeline really were things that we probably would have had a hard time getting with the conventional bid method.”

Safer pedestrian walkways were also installed under the new bridges.

Carrie Gartner with The Loop said I-70 creates a barrier between the north and south side of town. With the new walkways, kids in southern neighborhoods have much safer access Cosmo Park on the north side.

“When you’re on a bike, or on foot, or in a wheel chair,” Gartner said, “You really do need the shortest route to get some place. It is much easier to cross at West Boulevard and we’re so happy that people can now do that safely.”

80,000 people use the corridor across Columbia daily. According to Koestner, the interstate needs to be expanded to three lanes each way. However, there is no funding for MoDOT to plan a project like that right now. Koestner did add though, part of the contract with the bridge project required the bridges be able to be widened in the future if and when funding did become available.

The life expectancy of the bridges is upwards of 75 years according to Koestner.