ST. LOUIS — Plans for a new Mississippi River bridge in St. Louis are taking another step forward with the selection of a firm that will design the span.
The Missouri Department of Transportation says it has tapped HNTB Corp. from about a half dozen finalists.
Illinois and Missouri hope to begin construction in 2010, with the work taking four to six years.
The proposed four-lane, $640-million bridge is expected to carry about 40,000 vehicles a day as the fifth span between St. Louis and its Illinois suburbs. By 2030, it’s expected to carry up to 55,000 vehicles a day.
Missouri would pick up about $88 million of the tab and cover any cost overruns. Illinois would contribute $313 million, with the federal government pitching in $239 million.