By BRIAN OKENFUSS

CHESTER, Ill. – The Chester Bridge has carried motorists across the Mississippi River from Perryville, Mo. to Chester, Ill. for more than 80 years. Now, a new structure with a new look and name is under construction and on schedule to open next year.

The bridge will be a three-tower, cable-stayed bridge named the Don Welge Memorial Bridge. It is being constructed upstream from the existing structure and will be twice as wide to better accommodate today’s traffic.

The Ames Team—comprised of Ames Construction Inc. and Parsons Transportation Group—was selected to complete this $284 million Design-Build project in March 2023.

The Don Welge Memorial Bridge is named after the late Don Welge, who was a long-time staunch advocate for a new bridge to replace the aging Chester Bridge. Welge was a former resident of Chester, Ill. and a champion for the new crossing over the Mississippi River in the final years of his life, until his death in 2020. His dedication led to a state representative proposing a bill in March 2023 to honor him by naming the new structure after him.

The new bridge is comprised of eight piers. As of mid-July, the deck has been poured from piers one to three.

The main spans are supported by three towers – one on the Missouri riverbank, one in the center of the river and one on the Illinois side. The Missouri tower is complete, and the cable stays and deck sections have been installed. The center and Illinois towers are about 75 percent complete. In Illinois, cable installation on the tower started in late July, and piers 7 and 8 are nearing completion.

The project team also anticipates completion of the embankment work this August. The project is scheduled to be completed by December of 2026 – meaning the 7,000 vehicles that use the crossing daily should be driving across the Don Welge Memorial Bridge at this time next year.

In addition, construction is underway on the Horse Island Chute Bridge, which is a four-span structure leading to Missouri’s side of the major river crossing. Piles for the bridge have been driven, with work on the pile caps following. Completion is anticipated within the next two months.

Brian Okenfuss is project director for Missouri Dept. of Transportation’s Southeast District.