The Ike Skelton Bridge is a set of girder bridge

Girder bridge

A girder bridge, in general, is a bridge built of girders placed on bridge abutments and foundation piers. In turn, a bridge deck is built on top of the girders in order to carry traffic. There are several different subtypes of girder bridges:...

s on Route 13 over the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 at Lexington, Missouri

Lexington, Missouri

Lexington is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies about 40 miles east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area...

 between Ray County and Lafayette County.

It opened on June 25, 2005. It is named for Lexington native, Congressman Ike Skelton

Ike Skelton

Isaac Newton "Ike" Skelton IV is the former U.S. Representative for . During his tenure, he has served as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He is a member for the Democratic Party...

. Senate Bill 233 in Missouri also named the new Christopher S. Bond Bridge in Hermann, Missouri

Hermann, Missouri

Hermann is a city designated in 1842 as the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,674 at the 2000 census....

 over the river as well as section of Interstate 44 in Phelps County

Phelps County, Missouri

Phelps County is a county located in south-central Missouri in the United States.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the mean center of U.S. population in 2000. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 39,825. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 42,205....

 for former Governor Mel Carnahan

Mel Carnahan

Melvin Eugene "Mel" Carnahan was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 to 2000. He died in a plane crash on the Pevely and Hillsboro, Missouri border during a campaign for the U.S...

.

The bridge is two miles east of the former Lexington Bridge

Lexington Bridge (Lexington, Missouri)

The Lexington Bridge was a seven-span truss bridge on Route 13 over the Missouri River at Lexington, Missouri between Ray County, Missouri and Lafayette County, Missouri. It opened on October 31, 1924 and was replaced by the Ike Skelton Bridge on June 25, 2005. It was designed by the Kansas City...

. It is three-quarters-of-a-mile long and 78 feet wide. Its design includes two 12-foot lanes in each direction and two 10-foot outside shoulders and two 4-foot inside shoulders. It cost $50 million.