LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — The only toll bridge in the state of Missouri will be no more come this May.
The Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge recently announced they had paid their debts and will be turning the bridge over to MoDOT.
“We opened in May of 1998 to traffic. The original debt incurred was about 40 million and was restructured in 2012, reducing toll rates,” Eric Faes, the Bridge Operations Manager said. “We’ve had increased traffic flow and that has actually helped us get more revenue. The original maturity date for this bridge was 2026. When they refinanced, it actually got lengthened out, but they kept paying the payments and that’s how it actually stayed on track to be paid off early.”
For decades, the bridge acted as a shortcut for those who live at Lake of the Ozarks.
“It cuts off about a 45 minute drive around the lake,” Faes said. “Through the years, the bridge averaged probably about 4,000 cars a day year-round. On our some of our busier days in July, we’ll see in excess of 8,000 cars a day. I believe one of our busiest days was over eight, 11,000 cars in one day.”