<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578682620442.jpeg" alt="I-229 double decker overpass in downtown St. Joseph/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>I-229 double decker overpass in downtown St. Joseph/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostSt. Joseph has a big decision ahead of it and a councilmember
says the city needs to get it right.Councilmember Brian Myers agrees the decision about what
replaces the I-229 double decker bridge which runs along the Missouri River in
downtown St. Joseph is a generational opportunity.Myer credits the Missouri Department of Transportation for a
transparent process on deciding the future of the I-229 bridge.“It is a slow process. I think if they would pick something
today it would probably be at least five years before we saw anything, because
it is an interstate,” Myers tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “This is
an opportunity to fix something that I would argue never should have happened
to begin with.”Myers, who owns businesses in downtown St. Joseph, says the
downtown can’t really move forward until the replacement for the I-229 double
decker is decided.Myers says the double decker is an eyesore and presents unique
problems.“It is expensive to maintain. There’s some safety concerns
with it also, because when you have something that is elevated that way, there
are no shoulders, so if there is an emergency situation there’s really no way
you can effectively pull off,” Myer says.Myers says St. Joseph needs traffic from Kansas City to the
south and Omaha to the north to flow into the downtown, adding the city needs
to be careful that MoDOT settles on the best possible replacement.

St. Joe councilmember calls I-229 double decker decision important