State gets $81 million to replace bridge at Rocheport, trigger bonds
The Missouri Department of Transportation will get about $81 million to replace the Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River near Rocheport and trigger financing for other projects, members of the state congressional delegation said Monday.
U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley and U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler and Sam Graves announced that the state had been awarded the money in a joint news release Monday afternoon. The money will come in the form of an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Replacing the aging bridge has been a top item on local and state officials’ wish lists for years. State officials said if the bridge was not replaced it would have to be rehabilitated next year — a project that would create hours-long delays daily.
MoDOT began a series of public meetings about the rehab project last week. The agency said Monday that the rest of those meetings are canceled.
The bridge was built in 1960 and carries about 12.5 million vehicles per year. It is currently rated in poor condition.
MoDOT officials have said they plan to keep the current bridge open while the new one is built, reducing traffic delays. The agency is also expected to use funds financed through bonds to help pay for the project. MoDOT had applied for about $178 million for the project.
“The Rocheport Bridge is a vital component of our nation’s highway system, carrying millions of people and billions of dollars in freight every year,” Blunt said in the joint release. “Replacing the bridge will create a safer, more reliable transportation route for businesses, travelers and local residents. This has been one of the top infrastructure priorities for our state and I appreciate Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s support for getting it done.”
Gov. Mike Parson’s office said the money will trigger a $301 million bond program authorized by the state legislature and will help MoDOT build a new six-lane Rocheport bridge south of the current four-lane bridge.
A new Route BB interchange will also be built east of the bridge.
Both the Boone County and Cooper County Protection Fire Districts voiced their support for the bridge replacement Monday before the announcement.
“Obviously a bridge replacement is going to be better for the entire community, better for the state, better for emergency services responding to any incidents out there,” said Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp from the Boone County Fire Protection District.
Both departments had been working to plan for how to respond to wreck on or near the current bridge if MoDOT moved forward with the rehabilitation project. They had concerns about response times with backups expected to be anywhere between three and eight hours.
“Eight or nine miles westbound puts that traffic backup right here at Stadium Boulevard. So it’s very concerning in a sense that trying to get things that direction if we need to,” said Blomenkamp.
Cooper County said the station it expected to use during the work is not a manned station.
“Our issue is getting man power to that station to respond with trucks,” said Fire Chief David Gehm from the Cooper County Fire Protection District.
Gehm also voiced concern about getting large vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances through backup traffic or onto the bridge.
“One of our main concerns is the trucks are getting so big, and so tall, and so heavy it’s hard to squeeze between a vehicle and the guardrail,” Gehm said.
The departments were working to find landing areas for helicopters.
“So if we need to bring in a helicopter just to transport people we could do that. Obviously we wouldn’t do that for minor injuries but anything of much significance we may see an increase in the use of helicopters,” Blomenkamp said.
Prior to the announcement, the department had been working with each other as well as other departments to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Check back for more on this developing story.
