Before Mississippi River bridge rises, overpasses fall
The nitty gritty planning process of designing a new Mississippi River bridge north of the EdwardJones Dome is about halfway finished. The Missouri and Illinois transportation departments are getting permits, meeting with the railroads and the Army Corps of Engineers, said Greg Horn, project director.
The first visible work won’t be over the river, but will involve demolition of several overpasses along Interstate 70 in St. Louis, Horn said. This spring, the Missouri Department of Transportation should have a contractor hired to replace the St. Louis Avenue and the Madison Street overpasses just north of downtown. The Cass Avenue overpass also will be removed and rebuilt. This is part of the work to tie the bridge in with city streets and a future interchange.
Demolition will require I-70 to close for a day or two. So, it won’t occur until late this year or early 2010, once Highway 40 (Interstate 64) work ends, Horn said.
” So, it won’t occur late this year or early 2010, once Highway 40 (Interstate 64) work ends, Horn said.”
Should that say it won’t occur UNTIL late this year? Otherwise it sounds like they are going to do it now and know that it would be an nightmare to pull off while Hwy 40 is closed.