By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Proposals for what should be done with the I-229 double decker bridge will be brought to the public by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
A public meeting will be held at the Remington Nature Center in St. Joseph on Thursday.
Northwest District Engineer Marty Liles says reception he's heard to the four proposals that will be presented Thursday have been positive.
"I think what it's taken is everyone to kind of come together and really understand all the challenges there are with that bridge, the condition of that bridge, maintaining that bridge, and the cost with trying to rehabilitate that bridge in its current conditions with it," Liles tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
MoDOT officials estimate that over the next 20 to 25 years the current double decker bridge would cost up to $60 million to maintain the bridge.
MoDOT officials will be at Remington from 4 to 6pm on Thursday to answer any questions citizens may have about each of the proposals.
Liles says the meeting will be informal, but still informative.
"Come and go as you please there's not going to be any presentations and stuff like that, no informal presentations, there will be boards there, there will be people from our consultant, people from MoDOT there to go over any of the questions they may have, Liles says. "We can sit down with you and answer questions that we see fit; you'll have the chance to provide comments."
Liles says virtual public meetings will also be available through September 30th, allowing people to provide input on the project and sign up for updates.
You can find more information on those virtual sessions HERE.
During the public input session people will get a chance to see visuals of the four proposals from MoDOT for what should be done with the double-decker bridge
Northwest District Engineer Marty Liles says getting to see the proposals will help
"A lot of times, you know, there's a lot of questions that it's very difficult to explain in a picture, and so that's why we want to be able to sit down with those people if they have those questions, and answer those questions as best we can," Liles explains