Red Flag: Missouri Bridges Rank Among Nation’s Most At-Risk

It's easy to take bridges for granted. If you have spent as much time in Missouri as I have, you no doubt have crossed your share of them. Did you know there is data that shows Missouri has a disturbing number of bridges that are considered at risk? They number in the thousands.

I remember when I was a kid my family would cross the old Mark Twain Memorial Bridge in Hannibal whenever we had shopping to do in Illinois. If you looked out of the side of your vehicle, you could see rather large holes in the bridge in places with the river below. Now, looking back I now understand how terrifying that was and why it was eventually replaced around 25 years ago. I bring this up because I came across an interesting ranking by Bridge Masters Inc that shows the states with the most at-risk bridges. It says that Missouri is 11th in the nation with almost 3,200 bridges in trouble.

I began digging into the Missouri Department of Transportation's poor and weight-restricted bridges list and found some corroborating data, but their numbers are different as they only show 804 bridges rated as poor. This MODOT map shows where they are and how they are in every part of the state. In addition, their data says there are 935 bridges that cannot carry normal traffic and are now weight-restricted. This map is the most recent one I could find and it shows a 2023 date.

I don't envy MODOT as they work to replace or repair the many bridges in Missouri that are becoming increasingly dangerous. It's a tall task in a state that depends on safe travel over the many rivers in Missouri.