Obama's 'Fix it First' Program Would Mend 'Deficient' Des Peres Bridges

President Barack Obama proposed Tuesday night what he called a "Fix It First" program to address the nation's crumbling infrastructure—like roads and bridges—in an effort to improve citizens' quality of life and bring jobs to the United States.

"I propose a 'Fix-It-First' program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country," he said during the State of the Union Address.

"And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most—modern ports to move goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children."

Many of the structurally deficient bridges Obama referred to are located in the St. Louis area, according to Transportation for America. The organization's campaign says coordinators are "eager to reform how we spend transportation dollars at the federal, state and local level to create a safer, cleaner and smarter transportation system that works for everyone."

However, some cities are already actively engaged in tackling bridge repairs. In Des Peres, the five bridges cited by the organization as "deficient" are part of an eight-bridge replacement program that began in the 1990s, according to an article in the Webster-Kirkwood Times. 

The bridges all cross Two Mile Creek as it winds through the city. Bridges on Brookbend Drive and Firethorn Drive were replaced in 2010 and 2011, respectively, with the structure on Claychester Drive currently on schedule to be replaced in 2014. 

The two remaining deficient bridges, on Fawn Valley Drive and Oak Drive, are also part of the replacement program. 

See the accompanying map for a look at other nearby deficient bridges, which are indicated in red.

Overall, Missouri is one of the worst states when it comes to inadequate bridges, ranks 7th in the country with about 17 percent of all its bridges rated as such.

That may change if Obama has anything to say about it.

"Let’s prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America," he said Tuesday. "And let’s start right away."