Missouri Department of Transportation’s Lance Corporal Leon Deraps I‑70 Missouri River (Rocheport) Bridge Replacement Project replaced the 60-year-old, four-lane Rocheport Bridge with two new bridges. The $240 million investment delivers structures capable of carrying up to four lanes of traffic each.
MoDOT noted that frequent repairs to the old structure often caused eight-mile backups and three- to eight-hour delays. A rehabilitation project, at a cost of $18 million, would have only extended the life of the old bridge by 10 years. MoDOT received a $81.2 million federal INFRA Grant to fund two I-70 corridor improvements: replacement of the Rocheport Bridge and adding climbing lanes in Montgomery County.
The grant’s award triggered a $301 million bonding program that allowed MoDOT to repair or replace 215 bridges across the state – freeing up $301 million in state funds for new transportation projects. Though MoDOT received the INFRA grant via the FAST Act, the agency tapped formula funding apportioned by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to keep the project moving.
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