A state lawmaker who represents mid-Missouri’s Cooper, Howard and Randolph counties in Jefferson City helped cut the ribbon this week on the new $220-million I-70 Rocheport bridge.
State Rep. Tim Taylor (R-Speed), a retired Columbia firefighter, knows how historic the event was. The former, original I-70 Rocheport bridge was built in 1960:
“My dad as a kid remembers with his dad when the first bridge was built. And so for me to be here today to see the second bridge and its construction and to be involved in the ribbon-cutting is just phenomenal,” Rep. Taylor says.
Representative Taylor tells 939 the Eagle that the new bridge will also improve safety for motorists, truckers and for first responders who respond to crashes on or near the bridge. He’s a retired Columbia firefighter:
“Being an EMS guy and being a firefighter who worked on I-70 the thought that this bridge is going to be here. And so now when there’s an accident, there will be safety built into it for first responders. It just means a lot,” says Rep. Taylor.
State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) director Ed Hassinger tells reporters that he expects the new bridge to open by the end of December. The former, original I-70 Rocheport bridge was built in 1960. MoDOT describes the I-70 Rocheport bridge as the lynchpin of America, noting it carries more than 12-million vehicles per year.
The new bridge will officially be known as the Lt. Leon Deraps I-70 Missouri River bridge. Lt. Deraps, a U.S. Marine who graduated from Moniteau C-1 in Jamestown, was killed in Iraq in 2006.
