Starting no later than the 1970s, people started talking about taking some sort of action, and the result was the construction of a similar bridge 150 feet (46 m) downstream of the original, begun in 2007.

One previous constraint was a low rail bridge to the north of the original span, which required trucks to take a circuitous route to get across the river.

[1] In 2017, work began on conversion of the abandoned train bridge, upstream of the two road bridges, to a rail trail as part of the Columbia Greenway's final extension.

[3] Rehabilitation of the original bridge was halted in April 2010 because of the discovery of major deterioration of the understructure.

It was reported on July 18, 2010, in The Republican of Springfield that another year would be added to the project at a cost of an additional "several million dollars", according to State Senator Michael Knapik.