The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved a resolution to support renovating or replacing the Route 66 Meramec River State Bridge that the Missouri Department of Transportation closed in the fall of 2009 for safety reasons.

The MoDOT-owned bridge served Route 66 State Park, located off Lewis Road. The closure forces people to use an alternate route off Williams Road to enter the park. MoDOT says that, on average, 400 cars crossed the bridge daily. The cost to replace the bridge would be $10 million to $15 million.

Because of economic constraints, MoDOT will not allocate funds to replace the bridge, Eureka City Administrator Craig Sabo said. Unless someone comes forward to take over the project by February 2012, MoDOT plans to remove the bridge, Sabo said.

The board wants to bring together agencies to renovate or replace the bridge, Sabo said. MoDOT reports on its website that if action isn't taken soon, the bridge could collapse into the Meramec.