MoDOT provides update on Missouri River bridge replacement in Rocheport
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Work to replace the existing Missouri River bridge is moving forward, and construction could start as soon as this fall.
The new bridge will be a design-build project, meaning MoDOT will hire one contracting team to complete the design and construction work under one contract.
Project Director Brandi Baldwin said this will allow the project to stay within or under budget. It will also allow for the design of the bridge and the construction of the bridge to overlap.
"When we award the project, those two defined teams and their proposals are going to be providing us around a 30% complete set of plans," Baldwin said.
The project is expected to cost $240 million. Both Columbia and Boone County are slotted to pay $2 million for the new Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River. Boonville and Cooper County will pay $100,000 each.
The Missouri Department of Transportation will figure out the design-build project and award the contract by July 2021. On Friday, MoDOT will select from two teams to start discussing the project. From March until the project is awarded, the teams will begin plans for the project.
MoDOT said the new bridge could go on either side of the current bridge, but it has not been decided which side will be chosen.
Once construction begins, MoDOT said it should not cause any major impacts on traffic since the current bridge will stay open.
"Our intent is that no one sees any major impacts traffic-wise. It should not affect your daily commute. The only minor impacts we envision will be when we're tying into the new structure," Baldwin said.
The plan is to keep two lanes open in both directions and close lanes during non-peak hours.
Teams competing for the project will lay out any detours and will be scored on how they plan to handle the traffic.
The project will likely cause closures on the Katie Trail beneath the bridge to keep people safe.
Gale Blomenkamp with the Boone County Fire Protection District said the department will communicate with MoDOT during the design phase to discuss how traffic will be impacted in the area.
Blomenkamp said the fire district's main concerns are access east and west of the Route BB overpass, access to the current bridge and how crews will maintain and divert traffic.
