Memorial Highway and Bridge Program- Application Process

An applicant must complete an application if an organization or an individual is seeking a bridge or highway designation on Missouri’s state highway system honoring an event, place, organization, or an individual who has been deceased for two years or more. To be considered, the applicant must provide either a copy of the death certificate or the obituary if the memorial is being designated after an individual, verifying the designee has been deceased for two years. The applicant should describe the bridge or segment of highway for which designation is sought and the proposed name of the bridge or relevant portion of highway. To confirm availability of the desired section of highway or bridge, please contact the Missouri Department of Transportation at 1-888-275-6636 and ask for the Traffic and Highway Safety Division. The application shall include the name of at least one current member of the general assembly who will sponsor the bridge or highway designation in addition to providing a list of at least one hundred individual signatures and their addresses of those in the area of the proposed segment or bridge supporting the designation.  Each signature must be the original of the individual who is supporting the designation. A House or Senate member must be willing to sponsor the designation in order for the application to be submitted to the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight for approval consideration. The application and all supporting documentation along with the fee shall be submitted together and sent to the Missouri Department of Transportation - Highway Safety and Traffic Division.  Payment is to be made payable to “Director of Revenue—Credit State Road Fund”, the Missouri Department of Transportation’s account. Cash will not be accepted.  The Missouri Department of Transportation will submit the application and the supporting documentation to the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight for approval consideration.

No bridge or section of highway on the state highway system may be designated after more than one individual, event, place or organization. Each individual, event, place or organization shall only be eligible for one bridge or highway designation.

The payment covers the cost of constructing, installing, and maintaining the signs for twenty years.  After such period, the signs shall be subject to removal by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the bridge or highway may be designated to honor events, places, an organization, or an individual other than the current designee. An existing highway or bridge designation may be retained for additional twenty-year increments if, at least one year before the designation’s expiration, an application to the Missouri Department of Transportation is made to retain the designation along with the required documents and all applicable fees required. If the memorial designation is not approved by the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight, ninety-seven percent of the payment shall be refunded to the requesting organization or individual.

The proposed memorial name may be subject to sign design limitation of the sign. Including prefixes, ranks, and titles dramatically reduces the legend size of the proposed name, resulting in the letters becoming compressed together causing difficulty for the motorists to easily identify the memorial name from the roadway.

Two signs shall be installed marking the beginning of each end of highway section or bridge. All signs remain the property of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

An applicant may organize a dedication ceremony and may request a sign be unveiled at the ceremony by contacting MoDOT’s District Communications.  The District Communications staff will assist to coordinate the transport of one memorial sign to be unveiled.  The sign will be delivered and picked up during normal MoDOT business hours and installed on right of way after the ceremony is complete.  If the applicant requests the ceremony take place on MoDOT right of way, the District Communications staff will assist in locating a safe location for the ceremony.