The Missouri Department of Transportation announced today that a company out of Chicago, Walsh Construction Company, has been awarded the $62.7 million contract to repair and replace portions of the Blanchette Bridge.
The bridge, which spans the Missouri River along with St. Louis and St. Charles Counties, was built in 1958 and needs major repairs, MoDOT said.
According to MoDOT, the work will include the following:
- replacement of the truss sections of the bridge,
- replacement of the entire driving surface of the five-lane bridge
- repairs and replacements to many other major elements.
The repairs could begin as soon as Jan. 2012 and must be finished by April 2014, MoDOT said. MoDot’s Linda Wilson says westbound traffic will be detoured onto the eastbound bridge.
"We will be strongly encouraging people to use Route 370 to the north and Route 364, the Page Extension, to the south as well as asking people to try to adjust their travel times, try to carpool, and do things to avoid the peak morning and evening rush hours on the Blanchette Bridge," Wilson said.
The westbound bridge carries about 160,000 vehicles a day between St. Louis and St. Charles Counties.