By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission could move the construction of a new Mississippi River crossing forward at its meeting Wednesday. Or it could delay the entire project by six months.
The commission will decide at the special meeting whether or not to accept either of the current bids for the main span of the new $640 million bridge, which will be built north of downtown. Both came in over budget.
Commissioners have two options if they reject both bids, said project manager Greg Horn.
"It could be that we start all over from scratch," he said. Or the commissioners could change the project to lower costs.
"In either case, we're talking six months to a year delay, probably," he said. "I don't think you could turn around and rebid it just like it is and expect to get different results."
Construction was scheduled to start in the spring.