Osage River bridge construction to begin this spring

Written by jrood

Missouri transportation officials approved a project that will remove the last single-track bottleneck on the Union Pacific line between Jefferson City and St. Louis, Mo.  The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a contract for a new railroad bridge over the Osage River to OCCI, Inc., a construction company based in Fulton, Mo. When completed, the new bridge will significantly improve freight and passenger rail service.

The Osage River Bridge is the first major rail infrastructure project to be awarded in Missouri under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“This is an unprecedented achievement for freight and passenger rail in our state,” said Gov. Jay Nixon. “When the bridge is completed, rail service in Missouri will become an even more valuable transportation asset.”

The project, estimated at $20 million, will construct a second railroad bridge over the Osage River, adjacent to the existing Union Pacific bridge at Osage City. It also includes a new second mainline track on both sides of the new bridge, totaling about one-half mile. The new track will connect to the existing line, providing approximately 130 miles of double track from Jefferson City to St. Louis.

“This project eliminates the last bottleneck on the eastern half of the St. Louis to Kansas City corridor,” said Ben Jones, Union Pacific’s director of public affairs. “Removing this last single track portion will improve the velocity of both Amtrak and freight trains.”

Once complete, the project is expected to increase the reliability of Amtrak’s on-time performance. 

Tags: