Project Profile: Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge, Missouri

Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge

Lake Ozark, Missouri

Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Transportation Development District

Transportation Corporations & Transportation Improvement Districts (TID) / Transportation Development Districts (TDD)

Toll Bridge

The Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge addresses the challenge of building a bridge across the Lake of the Ozarks to link the East Side (St. Louis side) to the West Side (Kansas City side). The bridge serves as a key traffic artery for both tourism and local traffic, expanding the business and recreational opportunities on both sides of the lake.

In 1992, the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Corporation (LOCBC) was formed to fund the $43 million project. Construction of the 2,695-foot, $18.2 million toll bridge began in March 1996, and the bridge was open to the public on May 1, 1998. In 2012, the LOCBC was restructured to transfer the bridge’s ownership and operation to the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Transportation Development District (TDD). The funds generated by tolls are used to repay the bonds needed to finance the bridge systems' planning, development, and construction.

The TDD hired Jacobs Engineering Group to conduct a study to determine the direction the governing board takes when it comes to reducing costs to pay off debts slower or using project surpluses to pay the debt off early to make the bridge debt toll-free. The study cost the TDD $17,800 and resulted in lowering the off-season toll rates so that local drivers would be able to commute to work with less of an impact. Another reason for conducting the study was that the previous debt agreement prohibited any modifications to the toll rates without a certification from a qualified toll consultant on the expected level of revenues under any toll rate schedule change.
The TDD originally received private financing for the project but later applied for a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan. The refinancing went from 5.4 percent interest annually to 3.38 percent, lowering expenses by about $1 million annually.

$43 million

The original financing was done privately, and the TDD later refinanced the project through a UDSA loan.

Design-Bid-Build

N/A

USDA

Construction began in 1996. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on May 1, 1998, and the bridge opened for revenue service on May 2, 1998

With toll revenues in 2018 amounting to $3,822,213 and higher revenues projected in 2019, the project is expected to be paid off by 2026.

• The coordinated effort of the local communities, private developers, and MoDOT. Private landowners donated most of the needed right-of-way.
• A public/private partnership of a private, not-for-profit corporation - the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Corporation (LOCBC) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
• The Ozarks Community Bridge Corporation was formed in 1992 and transferred ownership and operation to the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Corporation Transportation Development District. The TDD uses funds generated by tolls to repay the bonds used to finance the bridge systems' planning, development, and construction.
• The partnership resulted in the implementation of a project which had gone unbuilt for 30 years.
• Significant economic impact on both sides of the Lake, but particularly the west side. In 1996, the bridge construction began, the district’s total assessed valuation was$79,900,000. This year the district’s assessed valuation is $336,100,000.

• Lake of the Ozark Community Bridge - Welcome
• Lake News Online - Two studies coming on tolls for Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge
• Lake Expo - Lake Of The Ozark’s Toll Bridge Could Be Free By 2026
• News Tribune - Refinanced loan for lake bridge paying off
• The Grassroots Public/Private Toll Movement - The Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge

      Eric Faes
      Bridge Manager
     (573) 374-9341
    ericf@locbtoll.com