Washington Bridge (Washington, Missouri)

The Washington Bridge is a currently demolished cantilever truss bridge over the Missouri River at Washington, Missouri over which Route 47 passed between Franklin County, Missouri and Warren County, Missouri. It has also been known as the Route 47 Missouri River Bridge.[1]

Washington Bridge from the southwest bank

The bridge was built in 1934. Its main span was 474.6 feet (144.7 m) and it had a total length of 2,561.3 feet (780.7 m) and a deck width of 22 feet (6.7 m). Its vertical clearance was 14.6 feet (4.5 m). The bridge carried one lane of automobile traffic in each direction.

2007 inspection and subsequent replacement

The Missouri Department of Transportation shut down the bridge on at 7:30 am on August 11, 2007, claiming to have discovered problems during regularly scheduled inspections.[2] As the bridge is similar to the I-35W Mississippi River bridge which collapsed in Minnesota, locals have speculated that the inspection and closure were related to this incident. The nearest open crossing over the Missouri river is approximately thirty miles (100 km) from the closed bridge. The bridge was reopened at 9:00 pm, but was scheduled for closure again at 7:30 am on Sunday, August 12, 2007. The bridge was scheduled to be reopened again for good at 9:00 pm that day.[3]

Construction on a replacement bridge, located just to the west of the old bridge, began in 2016. The new bridge features wider lanes, shoulders, and a pedestrian path which will open in spring 2019. The new bridge opened to traffic on Monday, December 3, 2018. The old bridge was destroyed on April 11, 2019[4].

See also

References
  1. "Route 47 Missouri River Bridge Rehabilitation Project". Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  2. MoDOT St.Louis Area District News Release
  3. http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=126660
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsmaIBDsRXE

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