The Blanchette Memorial Bridge carries

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

across the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

between St. Louis County and

St. Charles County St. Charles County is located in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organ ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. It is formed from a pair of twin

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

s and opened in 1959, with a second bridge opened in 1979. At the bridge's crossing, the Missouri River reaches an average depth of 45 feet. It is the area's busiest bridge, handling an average of 165,000 vehicle transits per day. Construction of the first interstate highway project (under provisions of the

Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion (eq ...

) started west of the bridge's present location. A sign commemorating the site of the nation's first interstate project stands next to Interstate 70 just east of the

Missouri Route 94 Route 94 serves eastern and central Missouri. The entire route closely parallels the Missouri River. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 67 in West Alton; its western terminus is at the intersection of U.S. Route 54 and U.S. Route 63 in ...

/First Capitol Drive overpass.

History

In 1979, a second span was opened due to the fact that the two laned configuration had become obsolete. The bridge was then named for French Canadian fur trader and hunter Louis Blanchette, who founded St. Charles as a post along the Missouri River; the village was the first European settlement along this waterway. Major rebuilding of the westbound span was planned MoDot starting in the late 2000s. The project started with the closure of the westbound span on November 4, 2012. During the closure, westbound traffic was diverted to the freeway's east side, for three narrow lanes in each direction. The westbound bridge's old superstructure was demolished in two explosions, with the first taking place on November 18, 2012. The second and final blast was on December 4, 2012. Construction of the replacement superstructure started in spring 2013, and the bridge reopened more than two months ahead of schedule in August 2013. The entire project was completed in 2014. In spring 2020, a repair project began on both bridges, with rehabilitation of the westbound span being completed in fall 2020 and the eastbound bridge in 2022.

References

Bridges in Greater St. Louis Bridges in St. Louis County, Missouri Bridges in St. Charles County, Missouri Monuments and memorials in Missouri Bridges completed in 1958 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Interstate 70 Road bridges in Missouri Cantilever bridges in the United States {{public-art-stub

History

See also

References