There are worse things than traffic jams and having your travel plans rearranged, even if it’s your daily commute.
The Missouri Department of Transportation moved with some degree of speed in the last few days in first limiting traffic and then just shutting down the northbound Missouri 291 bridge over the Missouri River.
The bridge is 60 years old, and an inspection revealed rust damage. MoDOT wouldn’t go so far as to call it an emergency but did say the matter is urgent.
First, the logistics. Northbound drivers needing to cross the river will be diverted to the Interstate 435 bridge in Kansas City (or the far less practical option of Missouri 13 in Lexington). It’ll be next week before crossovers can be installed, allowing one lane each of northbound and southbound traffic on the regular southbound bridge. That’s the new one, next to the old one.
The northbound bridge could be closed for months. We’ve been here before, when the newer bridge was built. For some time, the new bridge was used for all traffic while the old bridge was repaired. That whole process took years, to the frustration of many drivers. Here we go again.
Now, the bigger picture. Two summers ago, an interstate bridge in Minneapolis simply collapsed, killing 13 people and stunning the country. Major bridges just don’t fall. Across the country, transportation officials inspected bridges, and no imminent problems cropped in Missouri, even on at least one bridge with the same design as the one in Minnesota.
This all underlines the paramount importance of safety. Drivers are being rerouted, and more tax money will be spent on a bridge we all thought was fixed – but it’s all because someone was doing his job. We should be thankful for that.
