DNR Chief Criticizes Nixon Over Boonville Bridge Lawsuit

The head of the Department of Natural Resources is dismayed by the decision of Attorney General Jay Nixon to file a lawsuit over plans to get rid of the Boonville Railroad Bridge spanning the Missouri River at Boonville. DNR Chief Doyle Childers says one division of state government suing another division of state government makes no sense. The bridge, which is owned by Union Pacific, has gone unused for decades. The railroad wants to move the bridge to Osage County where it would be used. Childers says it’s going to cost millions of dollars of parks and trails money for the state to ever use the bridge as Nixon says it could be used. He believes Nixon’s actions are politically motivated.