Does the existing Paseo Bridge have to be torn down?
Yes. Our U.S. Coast Guard bridge permit states that when the existing bridge is no longer used for transporation purposes, it must be removed in its entirety within 90 days. Removing the existing Paseo Bridge’s old piers is necessary to maintain the Missouri River’s navigational channel. Additionally, from March to September 2007, MoDOT advertised both locally and nationally the availability of the existing Paseo Bridge for adaptive reuse at an off-site location, but received no responses. A new owner would have been required to disassemble, move, reassemble and then maintain the bridge in accordance with established standards for historic bridges — theoretically possible, but at an unfathomable expense.
