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The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Union Pacific Railroad, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration have signed a service agreement that will prompt construction of a second rail bridge over the Osage River, MoDOT officials announced.

Funded by federal stimulus funds, the $28.3 million project will eliminate the last single track portion between St. Louis and Jefferson City, Mo. The bridge also will eliminate the last single track bottleneck, which causes delays for freight and Amtrak trains on the eastern segment of the St. Louis-to-Kansas City corridor, according to MoDOT.

“This is a critical project that will alleviate congestion along a vital trade and passenger transportation artery,” said Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon in a prepared statement. “Once the bridge is in operation, the rail corridor across Missouri will become even more important for our state and the entire country.”

MoDOT officials anticipate bridge construction to begin in fall, but prolonged flooding in the state could postpone the start date to spring 2012, they said.

UP officials identified rail capacity improvements on the corridor during a study several years ago, said Ben Jones, UP’s director of public affairs for Missouri and Kansas. UP and MoDOT officials have agreed to further study the corridor as funding becomes available.

“Now, together we’re moving another step closer in tackling a bottleneck to rail traffic crossing Missouri identified in the study,” said Jones. “The completion of the second mainline bridge over the Osage River, coupled with Union Pacific’s more than $400 million investment since 1999 in track capacity and maintenance projects, will increase velocity and continue to improve Amtrak’s on-time performance.”