The New Mississippi River Bridge is a bridge, currently under construction, across the Mississippi River between St. Clair County, Illinois and the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The structure will relieve traffic on nearby bridges, most importantly the Poplar Street Bridge, which carries I-55, I-64, I-70, and US 40.
The bridge is of a cable-stayed design and will have a main span of 1,500 feet (457 m). It will carry four mainline traffic lanes (down from the originally planned eight), with room to add a lane in each direction, providing for expansion and reconfigurability. It will also be designed so that a companion bridge could be built beside it.
When all stages are complete, Interstate 70 will be re-routed over the new bridge. It will meet the existing I-70 at Cass Avenue and connect with the existing Interstate 55/Interstate 64/I-70 in East St. Louis. The remaining stretch of I-70 through downtown St. Louis will be redesignated Interstate 44. MOdot And IDOT have confirmed that if traffic rates continue to increase, sometime around 2017 a third lane will be added each way. If it continues to do so, a companion bridge will be built to the south.
Ground was broken officially on April 19, 2010. As of 2012, both the Missouri and Illinois approaches are under construction. Completion is slated for 2015.
Read more about New Mississippi River Bridge: Features, Design Challenges
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