JEFFERSON CITY, MO — The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission recently awarded construction contracts to rehabilitate or replace 14 of the state’s poor bridges. They are the first bridges to be awarded under Governor Mike Parson’s Focus on Bridges program, which was proposed in January and passed by the Missouri General Assembly in May.

The Focus on Bridges program provides $50 million in state general revenue for the repair or replacement of 45 bridges that had already been prioritized for work. All 45 bridges will be under contract by the end of the year and completed in 2020.

Since these bridges were already programmed in the state’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), the $50 million that originally would have been spent on these projects is now available to be used for other important projects. Those new projects will be identified by local planning partners in the 2021-2024 STIP.

In July, Missouri Department of Transportation received an $81.2-million INFRA Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that will facilitate the construction of a new I-70 Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport and I-70 climbing lanes at Mineola Hill in Montgomery County. The grant will also trigger a $301-million bonding program that will repair or replace an additional 215 bridges across the state, freeing up $301 million from the current STIP for new transportation improvement projects.