The new Amelia Earhart Memorial Bridge, a four-lane, tied arch structure will stretch nearly 2,500 feet, distinguished by its double steel arches on the main river span and special aesthetic lighting. It will replace the existing two-lane structure, which was completed in 1938 and is too narrow to handle some of today’s larger truck loads and farm implements. The extra lanes also will accommodate the greater numbers of vehicles that now pass over the bridge daily.
The new bridge is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011 with removal of the existing bridge in 2012. The bridge replacement is a cooperative project funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Missouri Department of Transportation. Of the $59.4 million construction cost, Kansas will contribute $30.6 million and MoDOT will contribute $28.8 million.
Watch Bridge construction
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