Will They Ever Finish the Old Gravois Road Bridge?

An Autumn opening for the new bridge across the Meramec River on Old Gravois Road seems to be the latest guesstimate out there, after rain and flooding held up work on the bridge this spring.

Just this week, workers were waiting for the Meramec water level to drop so that they could could work on a submerged piling. But the rising Missouri River may bring higher levels to Meramec in the coming days.

A new bridge was estimated to cost $5.7 million, with the majority of that coming from the federal government. The remainder was picked up by St. Louis County and Fenton.

It was unclear whether delays had added to the cost.

The previous 90-year-old bridge came down March 8, 2010, and the new bridge was expected to open by March of this year.

The old bridge was deemed unsafe and shut down just days after a Minneapolis bridge collapsed in 2007, killing 13.

The Old Gravois Road bridge was estimated to carry 10,000 cars a day before it shut down. 

Minnie Ha Ha Park has reopened since the latest round of flooding. The park is at the entrance to the bridge on the Sunset Hills side.