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Kingshighway bridge reopens in St. Louis. May 2017. South city Saint Louis.
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http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/new-kingshighway-bridge-opens-in-st-louis/article_2422afab-0a42-589a-8f9f-5a048e003541.html

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/kingshighway-bridge-partially-reopens/438054476


ST. LOUIS • The city’s new Kingshighway bridge is open for business.

After nearly two years of demolition and construction work, four of the six lanes on the one-third-mile-long span were opened just before noon Saturday to vehicular traffic. The bridge connects the city’s south side to Interstate 44 and Highway 40 (Interstate 64).

“I’ve missed the Kingshighway bridge,” said Jeanne Rohner, a Shrewsbury resident who moved here in 1961. “I’ll be so glad to have it back.”

The new span replaced a crumbling 78-year-old viaduct that officials said carried 55,000 vehicles across every day before it was torn down in 2015.

Designing and building the replacement cost $21 million, 80 percent of which was paid for by federal highway funds and 20 percent from the Union Pacific Railroad, officials said. Its tracks run underneath.

Two more lanes and sidewalks won’t be finished until mid- to late summer, officials said. The old bridge had just four lanes.

The project was delayed about five months, partly because workers uncovered utility lines undocumented in city records. Recent heavy rain also delayed the project.

Up to 200 people attended Saturday’s celebration and ribbon-cutting at the north end of the bridge at Shaw Avenue.

City leaders including 8th Ward Alderman Stephen Conway and newly elected Mayor Lyda Krewson gave brief remarks before the throng of people, dogs, bicyclists and a bagpiper made a ceremonial trek across the span to Southwest Avenue.

“Just as in our daily lives, these 22 months have taught us how important bridges are,” Conway told the crowd. “This bridge is a link to our past and a road to our future, and thank you for your patience.”

Krewson said she realized the bridge closure has been “very painful” for businesses and drivers, “but like a lot of things, when it’s over, we celebrate.”

She added, “I didn’t really have much to do with this. However, this is my 25th day as mayor, and it’s really fun to get to do something like this.”

Jeremy Bedenbaugh, lead pastor of the Journey, a network of six churches in the region, said the reopening is welcome news because the bridge closure caused a dip in membership at the church’s Kingshighway location near Tower Grove Park. He said he also noticed more late arrivals to services there.

But Bedenbaugh believes the new bridge has a deeper meaning for the city.

“This is a picture of reconnecting north and south, which is obviously huge in St. Louis,” he said. “A lot of businesses have suffered through this. We see this as a huge picture — a concrete step, literally, for the flourishing of the city.”

Lois Severin, 82, of University City, was among the first to cross the bridge on foot Saturday before it opened to vehicles. She and a friend passed out smiley face stickers as part of their goal to promote happiness in St. Louis.

“It’s wonderful for the city and for the businesses,” Severin said of the bridge opening. “For two years, this neighborhood has been frozen.”