Murdoch Bridge Opening in Webster Groves Tuesday
The bridge has been undergoing a replacement process since April.
View Murdoch Bridge in a larger map
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Webster Groves commuters, the day has come: Murdoch Bridge is re-opening Oct. 16 for travel.
After six months of constructing repairs on the bridge, the City of Webster Groves is planning to celebrate the bridge opening with a "Bridge Bash," inviting Old Orchards businesses affected by the bridge closing to participate in ribbon cutting festivities along with the general public.
Murdoch Bridge was declared structurally deficient and functionally obsolete, as Patch previously reported. The westbound ramp from Murdoch to Interstate 44 was also closed, altogether affecting the connectivity from I-44 to Big Bend Boulevard.
A release from Webster Groves said the new bridge cost $2.1 million, 80 percent federally funded.
The "Bridge Bash" ribbon cutting is at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Murdoch Avenue and Big Bend. A "Bridge Mix" cake from Cravings and a parade of public works vehicles and cars from Joe's Subaru will be on hand to aid in the celebrations.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Detour: Murdoch Avenue Bridge to Close April 23
- Murdoch Avenue Bridge to Close in January
- Murdoch Bridge Project Raises Traffic Concerns
- Engineering Consultants Release Schedule for Murdoch Bridge Reconstruction
What do you think? Are you excited for the bridge opening? How has your commute been affected by detours? Tell us in the Comments.
Steve Loher
8:27 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Glad to have the bridge open, but the story is incorrect that the ramp onto Westbound Interstate 44 from Murdoch was not closed. It remained open throughout the bridge reconstruction and was accessible from the South side of 44, except for a couple of late-night or overnight closures late in the reconstruction process. The writer may have meant to say the ramp from Elm Ave. onto Westbound 44 was closed part of the same time, which was rather poor timing and created additional traffic-flow headaches. As a Shrewsbury resident that travels to/from WG a lot, the re-opening is very welcomed.
Bryanna Hampton
10:18 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thanks, Steve! The city release said the ramp was closed during construction -- maybe it was for a bit of time, at least. I'm new to the area or I'd speak for it myself! :)
I've heard a lot of similar comments about the commute though. How much time did you allot for additional travel time through detours?
Steve Loher
11:09 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Welcome to the area, Bryanna. Actually, this incorrect information about the ramp to 44 has been included and corrected in several previous Patch stories over the past six months, but it's all moot at this point since the bridge is now open (YAY !!). The bridge closure was a huge disruption for all of the high school students who attend Webster Groves HS or Nerinx Hall HS who happen to live South of 44. We live in Shrewsbury and our daughter (who is a senior at WGHS) had to leave considerably earlier in order to navigate the backroads to get to school in the morning. In addition, the additional traffic on Edgar Road, Jackson, Shrewsbury Ave., etc. was a grind too. Personally, I serve on the WGSD Board of Ed. and I routinely need to go to/from the WGSD offices and these trips were also a pain due to the bridge closure. I guess the one good thing is that almost half of the down-time occurred over the non-school summer months. Initially, the plan was for the bridge to be closed from Jan. thru June and most of that time would have been during the 2011-12 school year. So I am glad the closure was put off for a few months. One thing that would have helped would have been better stoplight timing/configuration for the Murdoch/Laclede Station Road intersection, the Big Bend/Laclede Station (Hanley) intersection and the Shrewsbury Ave./Big Bend Blvd. intersection. I don't think the County really listened to the concerns about these areas. Thanks.