St. Louis Metro replacing Vandeventer Bridge

Written by jrood

February 14, 2001 Work is now under way on a construction project that will completely replace the 80-year old Vandeventer Bridge is St. Louis. The bridge currently supports three rail tracks: two for MetroLink, and a third for limited freight use. Constructed in 1929, the bridge that spans Vandeventer Avenue, a major thoroughfare in the City of St. Louis, is experiencing significant settling and deterioration. In addition, the bridge is supported by four piers that are obstacles to vehicular traffic.

The $5-million design-build project was awarded to St. Charles, Missouri-based
Millstone-Bangert. The firm will construct a two-span, pre-cast structure on
concrete abutments. The project is funded by a Federal grant and local matching
funds.

"The design for this project
will provide a stabilized structure that continues to support MetroLink well
into the future," notes Chris Poehler, P.E., Metro’s Senior Vice President,
Engineering & New Systems Development.

"The Vandeventer Bridge
replacement will improve the traffic flow by widening the existing roadway,"
said Todd Waelterman, Director of Streets, St. Louis City Street Department. "The
increased clearance height and wider roadway contributes to better visibility –
and, hopefully as a result, will increase commerce along Vandeventer. The City
of St. Louis is thankful to Bob Baer and Metro for their efforts on this great
improvement."

Construction is scheduled
to be completed during the spring of 2010. While the project has been designed
to be completed with minimal impact on both MetroLink riders and vehicular
traffic, the smooth flow of MetroLink travel will be interrupted during the
2009 holiday season, when the fewest people are commuting.
 The MetroLink
service outage for that section of track is scheduled to begin Christmas
weekend and continue through Sunday, January 3.

During that time,
passengers will be able to use specially designated MetroBus vehicles to travel
around the construction zone and continue their commute.

Cars on Vandeventer Avenue
will need to detour around the construction area for approximately two months
beginning on December 7.

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