Clearing remains of old Missouri River bridge on Interstate 70 takes longer than planned

EDITOR'S NOTE: A source error regarding the weight of steel has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Clearing the 6 million pounds of steel left in the Missouri River after blasting the old Interstate 70 bridge at Rocheport is taking longer than expected.

The blast Sunday morning was delayed about an hour because of fog in the river valley. The Missouri Department of Transportation said Monday that contractors have worked non-stop since Sunday morning to clear the ruins of the steel truss. Traffic has been flowing as normal on the new bridge since about an hour after the blast.

The demolition was part of the construction of a new, $220 million bridge over the river.

The bridge carries 34,000 vehicles and 8,227 commercial vehicles daily, according to MoDOT. It was built in 1960 and refurbished in 1993.

MoDOT says the contractor, Lunda Team, has been in touch with river shipping operators and there was no maritime traffic waiting to get through early Monday afternoon.

The bridge project is expected to wrap up in December 2024.