Update October 12, 2021: Governor Mike Parson joined Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, Missouri Senator Caleb Rowden, Boone County Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill, Cooper County Presiding Commissioner Don Baragary, and Columbia Mayor Brian Treece along with other politicians and the Missouri Department of Transportation to celebrate the construction of the new Interstate 70 bridges at Rocheport on October 12, 2021. Construction is slated to begin this fall. Here's what you need to know about the bridge replacement.

Sometimes called the "lynchpin of America" because it connects Missouri's two largest cities and a majority of the country, the I-70 Bridge in Rocheport will be replaced this winter.

Construction on the new bridge, which is actually two bridges. One for each direction of travel. Is slated to begin later this year and be completed by the end of 2024. In a press release, Missouri Department of Transportation Rocheport Bridge Project Director Brandi Baldwin says, “The replacement of the bridge provides a long-lasting solution and the plan will have minimal impacts to traffic on I-70 during construction.”

The Missouri Department of Transportation says the current bridge built in 1960 is rated in poor condition. Rehabbing the current bridge would have only added 10 years to the bridge's useful life and caused three to eight-hour back-ups on I-70 while construction was ongoing.

The Lunda Team was selected by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to build the new bridge based on their ability to deliver the project under budget. Minimize traffic impacts during and after construction. Maximize safety and capacity on the new bridge. Maximize the safety of workers while completing the project ahead of schedule.

“This bridge lies at the heart of Missouri and not only connects the two sides of our state but the majority of our country,” Governor Parson said in a release. “With over 12 million vehicles using the bridge each year and trucks carrying goods to all corners of the country, it is vital that we have world-class infrastructure in place that can meet the demand. This new bridge will keep people moving safely and drive economic activity in our state and local communities.”

The new Missouri River bridge will cost approximately $240 million and will provide a safe and reliable bridge for interstate travelers for the next 100 years. It was funded in part by an $81.2 million INFRA Grant, the largest competitive grant ever received by MoDOT.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

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