Champ Clark Bridge Proposals to be Unveiled Tuesday

Options for replacing the Champ Clark Bridge at Louisiana and upgrading its western approach will be formally unveiled Tuesday. The Missouri Department of Transportation will host a public meeting about the options from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Twin Pike Family YMCA in Louisiana.

Two of the routes for a new bridge go north of the existing structure and one is south of it. There are also four options for changing the intersection of Highway 54 and Highway 79.

The work is part of an environmental study that began last year and will continue until a preferred route is chosen in the next six to nine months.

The new bridge likely would have two lanes totaling 24 feet in width and shoulders of eight to 10 feet on each side.

Construction could begin as early as 2015 if funding becomes available. (Right now, it isn’t, but the project remains a top priority.)

Once a preferred bridge route is chosen, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (which heard about the importance of the project at a recent meeting in nearby Clarksville,) and the Federal Highway Administration would have to approve.   You can view the options on the major projects page at www.modot.gov/northeast.