Drivers heading along Interstate 70 east of Boonville have received an early Christmas present: the opening of the new eastbound bridge over the Missouri River outside Rocheport.

The eastbound span officially opened to traffic Thursday, as crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation successfully moved traffic from the westbound span overnight. The eastbound bridge is in the spot where the original bridge was built in 1960. Crews began the $220 million project to build two replacement spans in 2022, with the westbound span opening in June 2023 and the original bridge coming down that September. Crews will complete the final touches over the next few months to allow three lanes of traffic in each direction.

An average of 37,000 vehicles, including 8800 commercial vehicles, cross the Missouri River at this location each day. The new spans are named in memory of Lance Corporal Leon Deraps, a Jamestown native who was killed in action in May 2006 while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom.