As New Bridge Rises, So Do Expectations

The new Mississippi River Bridge project, slated for completion in early 2014, is starting to show significant progress. The towers on both banks of the river are now clearly rising into the air. When completed, the main span of this 1,500 feet long, cable-stayed bridge will be the third-longest in the United States. The bridge towers will reach 400 feet, exactly the same height as the 31-story Laclede Gas Building in downtown St. Louis.

The project is built at a total cost of $667 million: a Missouri side North I-70 interchange at $57M; the bridge itself, including MO & IL approach structures at $346M, and on the Illinois side the relocated I-70 roadways including a tri-level interchange at $264M. The bridge will have two lanes in each direction and could be restriped to three lanes each way in a later phase if traffic would necessitate this.

{east bank tower and I-70 approach in Illinois}