Lawmaker wants study safety of bridges

EAST ST. LOUIS -- A southern Illinois lawmaker wants the state's highway officials to improve safety on two narrow Mississippi River bridges linking St. Louis to Illinois.

Republican state Rep. Ron Stephens' resolution Wednesday calls for the Illinois Department of Transportation to consider installing crossover barriers on the Martin Luther King and McKinley bridges.

The King bridge links St. Louis to East St. Louis, the McKinley to Venice.

The resolution comes after the Belleville News-Democrat reported recently that at least 13 people have died as a result of traffic wrecks on the King bridge since 1998. Five have died on the McKinley during the same period.

IDOT says it'll do what's necessary to continue motoring public safety on Illinois bridges and roads.