MoDOT: 60 Missouri bridges need retrofitting

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A check of Missouri bridges following the partial collapse of one last week in St. Louis found 60 that need reinforcement, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

MoDOT reinspected 119 bridges statewide in the wake of the collapse at the Delor Street overpass onto Interstate 55 last Thursday. One driver was injured when a 25-ton slab of concrete collapsed onto the interstate.

MoDOT said Tuesday that 45 bridges in the St. Louis area need retrofitting, along with 12 in Kansas City and three in St. Joseph.

The problem at the Delor Street overpass was blamed on water and salt that caused deterioration of reinforcing steel that held an overhanging sidewalk to the bridge. A day after the collapse, MoDOT director Pete Rahn ordered additional reinforcement for all bridges with similar overhangs.

The department no longer uses the design used on the Delor bridge.

MoDOT will hire a contractor Friday to insert steel bolts to better secure the sidewalks to the 60 bridges statewide.

Repairs are planned immediately at the Delor bridge and the Holly Hills Avenue bridge over I-55, which showed similar signs of corrosion. The Delor bridge remains closed, but the Holly Hills overpass is open.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com.