COOPER COUNTY - A bridge deck replacement on the Route 5 bridge over Interstate 70 in Cooper County is nearly complete and will open to traffic after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2009.

The ceremony is open to the public and will be held rain or shine. Parking will be available on Route 5 on either side of the bridge, which is located at mile marker 101 on I-70.

Work on the new bridge deck began on June 2. The bridge was closed to traffic during construction to allow for a faster completion time.

"Approximately 5,700 vehicles use this bridge on an average day," said MoDOT District Engineer Roger Schwartze. "We appreciate the patience and cooperation of those motorists and the area businesses while the bridge was closed."

The bridge deck replacement cost approximately $398,280.00. Don Schneiders Excavating Company, Inc., of Jefferson City, Mo, completed the work.

The original structure was built in 1958 and was 265 feet long and 28 feet wide. The new bridge deck widens the driving surface to 30 feet, with two 12-foot lanes and 3-foot shoulders.

Occasional lane closures on Interstate 70 may occur at this location as crews remove the bridge forms and complete some painting.

The improvements are part of MoDOT's Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program, which will improve 800 of Missouri's worst bridges in five years. Ninety bridges will be replaced or repaired in the mid-Missouri area as a part of this program. 

Four additional bridges are under construction and seven have been completed in Central Missouri. There are 33 bridges currently under construction 54 completed across the state.

For more information about the work or for a complete listing of bridges included in the program, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or log onto www.modot.org/central. You can also follow MoDOT's Central District on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MoDOT_Central.