A new railroad bridge over the Osage River between St. Louis and Jefferson City is now open for both passenger and freight train use.
The new bridge cost $28 million, with most of the funds coming from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo says the project came in under budget and ahead of schedule.
“We now have double-track running the entire stretch from Jefferson City to St. Louis, and delays caused by rail traffic funneling into a single track over the old bridge are now a thing of the past,” said Szabo.
However, bottlenecks still exist between Jefferson City and Kansas City.
MoDOT Director Dave Nichols admits that finding money to eliminate them won’t be easy.
Union Pacific owns the rail line that crosses the new bridge, which also serves as the route for Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner between St. Louis and Kansas City.
