Fifteen months after breaking ground on Columbia, Mo.’s new Interstate 70 bridge, the structure is nearly ready for traffic. The bridge is scheduled to fully open to the public later this month, with a ribbon ceremony set for Tuesday.
If all goes as scheduled, the completion will mean the Missouri Department of Transportation (MDOT) will meet its goal of having both bridges open by the end of 2024 while remaining within the $220 million budget.
The old bridge, which opened in 1960, had already undergone a roughly $30 million rehabilitation in 1993, which was meant to buy it another 10 to 15 years of life. The crossing over the Missouri River carries anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 cars per day, so a strong bridge is required.
Instead of the single, four-lane bridge that had previously crossed the Missouri River, the new project involved construction of two bridges, one eastbound and one westbound, each capable of carrying three lanes of traffic.
The westbound bridge was built north of the old bridge and opened for traffic serving both directions in July 2023. It was then that the project got more explosive. Missourians tuned into live streams while crowds gathered along the banks of the river in September to say goodbye to the old bridge and watch it go out with a bang.
This project will conclude as the state begins the I-70 expansion project, which aims to upgrade the highway between Kansas City and St. Louis from four lanes to six.
While traffic is slated to open on both bridges later this month, there is still a small bit of work to be done.
Come spring, a final lift of asphalt and fresh road stripes will be laid, as well as finish the last bits of construction and river cleanup.
The bridges are named in memory of Lance Cpl. Leon Deraps, a U.S. Marine from the small town of Jamestown, who gave his life during the Iraq War.
Source: Columbiamissourian.com, KWOS.com
