MLK Bridge at St. Louis: A proposed interstate that didn't make it?

[Revive 755]

Found mention by a former IDOT engineer in an old newspaper article that mentions the MLK bridge was taken over from East St. Louis by Missouri and Illinois "with the intent of adding the bridge to the interstate highway system."  Improvements to the Missouri approach were required before the route would be signed.  This would have been ~6 years before plans really began to take shape for the currently proposed I-70 bridge or ~15 years before the MLK Coupler proposal.

Source article is "Bridge Opening:  King Span Ends $27 million Face Lift."  St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 12, 1989, accessed via Newsbank. (The MLK had been closed for 13 months to repair neglect from its time under East St. Louis)

Given that the bridge was undivided and had 10' lanes, this seems kind of dubious to me.  Though I-64 in Missouri has the WB Missouri River bridge with 10' lanes, it is still divided there.

There's the possibility that this would have been a business loop level route.  It's also possible this may have something to do with the unposted IL 770 designation for the bridge.

[Revive 755]

Found more references to adding the MLK to the interstate system, and possibly the McKinley as well in the 1985 bridges study for downtown St. Louis, so it may not be just a newspaper typo - could be multiple people confusing the state highway systems with the interstate system.

Google Book entry for the item:
http://books.google.com/books?id=RRhmGwAACAAJ&dq=A+report+submitteed+to+the+East-West+Gateway&lr=lang_en&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=1980&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=1986&num=100&as_brr=0&cd=1