Politics & Government

Obama's 'Fix it First' Program Would Mend 'Deficient' Olivette Bridge

In his 2013 State of the Union Address Tuesday, President Barack Obama touched on immigration policy, gun control and the economy, among other national issues. In terms of infrastructure, he proposed a "Fix it First" plan that may affect Olive

President Barack Obama proposed Tuesday night what he called a "Fix It First" program to address the nation's crumbling infrastructure—like roads and bridges—in an effort to improve citizens' quality of life and bring jobs to the United States.

"I propose a 'Fix-It-First' program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country," he said during the State of the Union Address.

"And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most—modern ports to move goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children."

Find out what's happening in Olivettewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Many of the structurally deficient bridges Obama referred to are located in the St. Louis area, according to Transportation for America. The organization's campaign says coordinators are "eager to reform how we spend transportation dollars at the federal, state and local level to create a safer, cleaner and smarter transportation system that works for everyone."

Their online database lists one bridge in the Olivette area as "deficient," the Dielman Road bridge crossing River Des Peres. First built in 1970, according to the database, it carries around 7,885 cars per day. 

Find out what's happening in Olivettewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

See the accompanying map for a look at other nearby deficient bridges, which are indicated in red.

Overall, Missouri is one of the worst states when it comes to inadequate bridges, ranks 7th in the country with about 17 percent of all its bridges rated as such.

That may change if Obama has anything to say about it.

"Let’s prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America," he said Tuesday. "And let’s start right away."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Olivette