New Mississippi River Bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section contains information about a planned or proposed future bridge.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the bridge approaches, and more information becomes available on it.

New Mississippi River Bridge
The chosen design for the new Mississippi River bridge (artist's rendition).
Official name	Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Bridge
Carries	8 lanes of I-70, expandable to 12
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	St. Louis, Missouri and St. Clair County, Illinois
Maintained by	MoDOT and IDOT
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Longest span	1,500 feet (457 m)
Total length	2,803 feet (854 m)
Width	300 feet (91 m)
Clearance below	75 feet (23 m)
Opening date	Proposed 2013
Coordinates	38°38′40″N, 90°10′42″W

The New Mississippi River Bridge is the name of a proposed bridge over the Mississippi River, connecting St. Clair County, Illinois to the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The Missouri State Legislature voted on August 28, 2005 to name the bridge the Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Bridge.

The bridge project is currently coming to the end of the design phase, with construction possible - though not yet funded - to achieve completion by 2013. As of 2006, there is a substantial controversy over funding the completion of the bridge, with Missouri transportation officials favoring a $2 toll while Illinois officials and at least one St. Louis congressman demanding a toll-free crossing.[1]

The bridge is of a cable-stayed design, and has a proposed main span of 2000 feet (610 meters), the longest cable-stayed span in the Western Hemisphere and among the longest in the world. At 222 feet (68 meters) wide, it will be the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world, carrying eight mainline traffic lanes, with additional inside and outside shoulder lanes providing for expansion and reconfigurability.

According to current plans, Interstate 70 would be re-routed over the new bridge and Interstate 44 would be extended through downtown St. Louis. The bridge would relieve traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge, the only Interstate Highway bridge in downtown St. Louis, which currently carries three Interstates.