ST. LOUIS — St. Louis police call it a "freak accident" but inspectors have rated the Lindell-Union Bridge as "poor" for more than a decade, according to reports from the Army Corps of Engineers.
One person was killed in a car accident outside of Forest Park Monday afternoon. Emergency crews responded to Union and Lindell around 12:20 p.m.
Another person was injured and their condition is unclear. Aerial images show a car crashed into the concrete guardrail and a large piece of concrete fell onto a car below.
Traffic has reopened both on top of the bridge, and underneath on Forest Park Parkway, but questions still linger about the safety of the structure.
That especially goes for the neighbors that are forced to drive this every day.
"Accidents happen here all the time," said Chris Sommers, who lives near the bridge.
Sommers said he's been concerned about the Lindell-Union Bridge since the day he moved into his house.
"But hyper-sensitive to the day I had children," he said.
In his mind, the crumbling concrete and excessive speeds have always been a recipe for disaster.
"This was so predictable. We predicted it. We knew it was preventable. We warned them. We said you have this knowledge, you know what happens here and you still don’t make a change? You’re kinda liable," said Sommers.
He isn't the only one who saw an issue like this coming.
Just a little over a year ago, 5 On Your Side investigated dangerous bridges in Missouri with Civil Engineer Amy McLaren.
This was her nearly prophetic warning about crumbling concrete on the Lindell-Union Bridge.
"If this hits your car, that would get your attention," she said as she grabbed a piece of crumbling concrete from the side of a bridge span.
The Army Corps of Engineers warned about this too.
Their most recent inspection report from August 2016 shows the superstructure and deck of the bridge was in "serious" condition and lists the overall condition as "poor."
The inspection also found that the bridge's structure was "basically intolerable requiring high priority of corrective action."
And get this - the bridge has gotten a "poor" rating in every inspection since July 2005.
5 On Your Side asked the President of the St. Louis Board of Public Service about replacing the bridge back in 2017, He said a full replacement of just the portion of the bridge over Forest Park Parkway would cost $6 million and that they would need federal funding to make the project happen.
While a permanent fix is certainly needed, Sommers said just slowing down traffic would help him sleep better at night.
"There are things you can do in the short term to make sure this never happens again," he said.
5 On Your Side reached out to Mayor Lyda Krewson's office for questions about whether there are upcoming plans to replace the Lindell-Union Bridge.
They declined to answer our questions but did send out a statement:
Today’s tragic accident at Lindell and Union boulevards over Forest Park Parkway is under investigation. City departments are working to gather all the facts. Further information will be released in the coming days.
