Controversial Missouri Bridge May Be Recycled

In Missouri, there is widespread agreement that a Depression-era bridge should be preserved for its historical significance. However, a dispute over its fate will determine if it is relocated and recycled as a railroad bridge or converted into a pedestrian bridge.

The MKT (Katy) Railroad bridge, which crosses the Missouri River at Booneville, Mo., was completed in 1932 as a part of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, but was closed 22 years ago to railroad traffic.

In 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard claimed the unused bridge was a navigational hazard and ordered Union Pacific to dismantle it. They planned to take the bridge apart and float it in pieces down the river to Jefferson City, Mo.

According to the Save the Katy Bridge Coalition, more than 300,000 walkers, riders and joggers from all over the world use the Katy Trail annually. Photo: Savethekatybridge.org

On one side of the debate, supporters hope to recycle most of the steel to build a new bridge over the Osage River east of Jefferson City, saving millions of dollars in the process. It would also complete a dual track between Jefferson City and St. Louis, easing daily congestion of passenger and freight trains.

On the other hand, historians and bicyclists have protested the removal of the rare lift bridge, which could be transformed into a pedestrian bridge along Katy Trail State Park in Missouri, featuring a 225-mile bicycle trail stretching from Sedalia to St. Charles. Currently, the trail diverts from the rail-bed path to a highway to cross the river.

“My hope is that both Union Pacific and the state of Missouri would see the value of allowing us to develop the MKT bridge as part of the Katy Trail,” said Sarah Gallagher, president of the Save the Katy Bridge Coalition, as reported by the Columbia Missourian.

It appeared that a resolution might be in sight when the Missouri Department of Transportation announced it is now applying for $27 million from the federal economic stimulus package to build a new bridge over the Osage River.

However, a Missouri Department of Transportation official said the construction of a new Osage River bridge would not guarantee that the Katy bridge remains intact.

The Save the Katy Bridge Coalition hopes to gain ownership of the bridge before it can be dismantled. They have raised more than half of the $1 million necessary to renovate it into a pedestrian bridge.

Only time will tell the outcome of the legal battle. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon filed a lawsuit in 2005, which delayed the original dismantling of the bridge. Now the Coast Guard is preparing a report on how to make a historic record of the bridge, should it be taken down. The report should be finished by September.