FAIRMOUNT CITY, Mo. – In one of the busiest morning rush hours, a major connector from St. Louis into Illinois had an emergency failure. Ever since, the eastbound Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge has been closed, leaving drivers scrambling to find a different way home.
FOX 2 is learning that the safety problems span deeper than the bridge buckling.
The Stan Musial Bridge went from having 20,000 drivers in a day to none, and it happened quick.
“We had a report of metal on the roadway…and found that part of the expansion joint had actually failed,” IDOT District 8 Engineer of Operations Joe Monroe said. “The devastation we had to the joint was unfortunately catastrophic.”
The bridge joint failed due to a failed design plan, forcing IDOT to find a new plan of action. The route they’ve taken isn’t typical.
“We’re actually having two emergency contracts, one to procure the actual joint, and then another one to actually install the joint,” Monroe said.
The joints were installed on the bridge that was built 10 years ago, which has since seen heavy cargo from wind turbines, Boeing components, and heavy trash trucks. The bridge carried 93 super loads every month. IDOT has discovered that from east to west, adjacent joints have been proven to be unsafe, leading them to a longer road ahead of repairs.
“There’s two things that have happened: one, we realized this was probably not the best solution. Then, on top of it, the bridge has already expanded a little bit,” Monroe explained. “It did not give us the useful life we anticipated over the joint.”
Despite there being no timeframe on when the work will be completed, Monroe is certain that the problem is contained to the specific overpass. He was the one to make the call for a closure, which he said was never up for negotiation.
“We’re more confident than ever we’ll get the use (and) the lifespan out of this bridge joint and that we’ll have less impact….down the road,” he said. “We don’t compromise safety, we didn’t feel like we had another opportunity or another choice.”
Until then, commuters are recommended to stick to Interstate 70 and Interstate 255, which leads to Interstate 64.
“When we get to the other side of this, I’ll be confident for everyone that uses it,” Monroe said.
