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The Alton Police Department has had to contend multiple times with motorists removing the barrier blocking traffic to cross the Clark Bridge both Sunday and this morning.
Alton Police have an officer temporarily assigned to watch the bridge and it has paid off. Alton Police quickly stopped a motorist around 8:10 a.m. Monday after he removed the barricade on the south lanes of the Clark Bridge in Alton to cross the bridge.
Alton Police Chief Jake Simmons said Alton Public Works Director Bob Barnhart and Missouri Department of Transportation reps will be assessing the bridge this morning to see if a lane of the two northbound lanes could be opened for motorists to cross the bridge into Missouri, but nothing has been decided yet.
“MODOT and IDOT closed the southbound lane of the Clark Bridge late Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning, several had removed the barricade and were found stranded in high water on the other side of the bridge,” Simmons said.
“We had to put one officer on the bridge last night because we were too afraid someone would remove the barricade and cause serious injury to themselves. We knew with rush hour in the morning, some people are so used to using that route they would remove that barricade. Obviously, they don’t know the depth of the water on the other side. The water ranges at a high point of 2 to 4 feet on the other side. When they hit that water at any speed with any size vehicle they can hydroplane and drive off the side of the road.”
Simmons praised the officer who stopped the motorist this morning and possibly saved the man from injury on the other side of the bridge.
Simmons reminded drivers that barricades are placed in certain spots to alert them of dangers and it is illegal to remove the barriers.
