Obama's 'Fix it First' Program Would Mend 'Deficient' Ladue, Frontenac Bridges

President Barack Obama proposed Tuesday night what he called a "Fix It First" program to address the nation's crumbling infrastructure—like roads and bridges—in an effort to improve citizens' quality of life and bring jobs to the United States.

"I propose a 'Fix-It-First' program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country," he said during the State of the Union Address.

"And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most—modern ports to move goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children."

Many of the structurally deficient bridges Obama referred to are located in the St. Louis area, according to Transportation for America. The organization's campaign says coordinators are "eager to reform how we spend transportation dollars at the federal, state and local level to create a safer, cleaner and smarter transportation system that works for everyone."

Three bridges in Ladue and one in Frontence are cited as "deficient," according to the database, but all but one of them either has been or is scheduled to be replaced. 

In Ladue, improvements to two bridges on McKnight Road where it crosses the Black Creek are part of a larger overhaul of the roadway. Initial engineering work for the project was approved in March of last year and it remains an ongoing process.

The bridge cited in Frontenac, located on Geyer Road where it crosses Two Mile Creek, was replaced by the city last fall. 

The one bridge listed by Transportation for America still in need of attention in the area is the Clayton Road bridge crossing over Deer Creek, which carries an estimated 16,530 cars per day. 

See the accompanying map for a look at other nearby deficient bridges, which are indicated in red.

Overall, Missouri is one of the worst states when it comes to inadequate bridges, ranks 7th in the country with about 17 percent of all its bridges rated as such.

That may change if Obama has anything to say about it.

"Let’s prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America," he said Tuesday. "And let’s start right away."