Construction is underway on a $240-million Missouri River crossing for I-70 near Rocheport, Mo. The paired 3,000-ft-long, three-lane structures will replace a 60-year-old, structurally deficient continuous truss bridge that the Missouri Dept. of Transportation calls the “lynchpin of America” because the highway connects the state’s largest cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, and key portions of the U.S. system. The structure currently carries more than 12.5 million vehicles per year, including 3.6 million trucks. To minimize traffic impacts, plans call for the existing bridge to remain in service until the first river span is completed, a milestone the agency expects to achieve by late 2023. The second bridge is scheduled to be ready the following year. Lunda Construction Co. is leading the design-build project, which is being funded in part by an $81.2-million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. Parsons Transportation Group Inc., Dan Brown & Associates Inc. and Hugh Zeng United are providing design services. Safety enhancements planned for the new structures include high-friction surface treatment, pavement sensors, wet reflective striping and a linear delineation system. The project team will also reconstruct the nearby County Route BB interchange.