Concrete bridge girders are the next step for new Rocheport bridge, says MoDOT engineer
The Missouri Department of Transportation and the Lunda Team two months ago invited media members on a tour of construction progress of the Lance Cpl. Leon Deraps Interstate 70 Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport.
A further public update was provided Saturday from Taylor's Landing Access on the river, south of the bridge site. Deraps, a Jamestown native, was killed at the age of 19 while serving with the U.S. Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006.
MoDOT plans to hold monthly public updates about the bridge project on third Saturdays.
At the time of the May update, three land-based bridge piers were complete, with several others in process on land and in the river.
MoDOT is finishing up its last drilled shafts for the year for the piers, said Nicole Samer, project engineer. Shafts for the piers are drilled into 20 feet of bedrock via an 11-foot-diameter drill.
More: Foundation of new Rocheport Bridge, named after fallen Marine, starting to take shape
"In the middle of August, we have concrete girders scheduled," Samer said. "That will impact traffic a little bit in the mornings. We'll be placing the girders from the lane. It will be early morning until noon on the westbound side only.
"It will really start to look like a bridge by the fall."
The current bridge is a truss-style bridge, while the new bridge will be a girder bridge, which means all of the bridge structure is below the driving deck, added Bryan Hartnagel, MoDOT bridge engineer.
"The new profile grade is a lot higher," he said.
The highest point will be about 20 feet taller than the existing bridge.
"We're still giving the same clearance to river traffic," Hartnagel said. "It has to have the higher grade because of the girders."
Night work also is planned, which will impact overnight traffic the next three weeks, Samer added. There is a hope to finish the work in just two weeks, however, said Anthony Moore, Lunda Team project engineer.
More: Will Rocheport Bridge construction turn Interstate 70 into a parking lot? Officials say no
Matthew Hodges, a fuel tanker driver for Love's Travel Stop in Boonville, regularly travels on the bridge and has seen updates from his truck's cabin, he said.
"I knew the trucks were going up the ramp, around and going down and making a loop. I knew the route," he said about dump trucks and other trucks entering and leaving the interstate near the bridge on pathways created by the Lunda Team.
His top observation of the construction process is other motorists not heeding speed limit signs related to the bridge construction.
The speed limit is 60 mph for a reason, Samer said.
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Concrete girders next step for Missouri River Rocheport Bridge
