The bridge carried one lane of automobile traffic in each direction.

The Missouri Department of Transportation shut down the bridge at 7:30 am on August 11, 2007, claiming to have discovered problems during regularly scheduled inspections.

This resulted in a 60 mile (100 km) round-trip detour to the nearest open crossing over the Missouri river.

[3] MoDOT eventually completed a rehabilitation project in 2008 and 2009 as a stopgap measure until funding could be identified to replace the bridge.

The new bridge features wider lanes, shoulders, and a pedestrian path.