Senator Roy Blunt Bridge

Senator Roy Blunt Bridge
Senator Roy Blunt Bridge
	Senator Roy Blunt Bridge from northwest bank. The Missouri State Capitol in background.
Coordinates	38°35′15″N 92°10′44″W / 38.5876°N 92.1788°W
Carries	US 54 / US 63
Crosses	Missouri River
Locale	Jefferson City, Missouri
Characteristics
Design	Twin Trussed Arch Spans
Total length	942.7m
Width	11.5m
Height	11.5m
Longest span	195m
History
Opened	1896 (original bridge) ; August 1955 (westbound bridge) ; 1991 (eastbound bridge)
Location

The Senator Roy Blunt Bridge is a twin continuous through arch truss bridge over the Missouri River at Jefferson City, Missouri, which carry U.S. Routes 54 (US 54) and 63 between Cole County and Callaway County. Before being officially named for former Missouri Senator Roy Blunt in 2022, the bridge was known as the Jefferson City Bridge.^[1]

As of 2018, the combined bridges see approximately 29,000 vehicle traversals per day.

History

The original bridge was built in 1896 and had three spans and was downstream of the current bridges. It was a swing bridge, and its column in the middle of the river rotated 90° to allow boat traffic to pass (the rotation could disrupt traffic for 45 minutes). The main span was 134.1 metres (440 ft). The diameter of the pivot pier was 6.7 metres (22 ft). The pillars at the south entrance to the bridge are still in place, now a part of Rotary Park, overlooking the river at the end of Bolivar Street.

The present-day westbound bridge was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel of St. Louis in 1953 and fabricated by Stupp Brokers Bridge & Iron Company. It opened in 1955 and carried both directions of travel, with a reversible center lane which alternated direction based on commuter traffic volumes. The original bridge was then closed to traffic, and was finally demolished in 1958.

Due to increasing traffic in the area a second twin structure was opened in 1991 and carries three lanes of eastbound traffic. The 1955 bridge was then extensively rehabilitated and restriped to carry three lanes of westbound traffic. The 1991 bridge retained the same basic design of the 1955 structure.

The eastbound bridges cantilevered bicycle and pedestrian walkway opened in April 2011. It is used in both directions for river viewing and access to the Katy Trail State Park. A city-maintained extension of the Katy (following a former KATY railroad spur) connects to the North Jefferson trailhead.

The westbound bridge was repainted and rehabilitated in 2015.

The eastbound bridge was rehabilitated in 2021.

The bridge were designated after former Missouri Senator Roy Blunt in 2022.