By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – A winter storm pummeling the East Coast has forced the Missouri Department of Transportation to cancel the groundbreaking on the new Mississippi River bridge.
Several federal officials could not make it out of Washington, D.C. to attend the ceremony to officially start the project. Though work will start as scheduled, MoDOT director Pete Rahn said the department decided to wait until the Congressmen could be recognized.
"Members of Congress on both sides of the river and officials with U.S. Department of Transportation played vital roles in securing funding for the new bridge and ensuring that this important transportation improvement became a reality," Rahn said in a statement.
The $670 million project will connect Interstate 70 at the I-64/55/70 interchange in East St. Louis to a new interchange at Cass Avenue in St. Louis. It's scheduled to open in 2014.