Ames crews building the Don Welge Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River are advancing construction despite high winds and heavy rains in the project’s second spring.
The team is constructing the bridge upstream of the existing 80-year-old Chester Bridge that connects Perryville, Missouri, to Chester, Illinois.
Recent achievements
- Stay erection on the first pylon tower using balanced cantilever construction began in late January 2025 and is on track to be complete in May.
- On bents 5 and 6, crews are out of the water and well over 100 feet above raging spring flood waters, continuing the pylons to the top, over 250 feet above ground.
- Crews have begun work on the approach spans and the backwater four-span Horse Island Chute Bridge.
Batten down the hatches
In March, the project team secured the site ahead of a storm front that produced 37 tornados across the state, one of which traveled 5 miles from the project. Ames coworkers joined in the community cleanup effort at the high school in Perryville, which sustained damage.
Fortunately, the future bridge escaped the fate of its predecessor: The current bridge was originally constructed in 1942 and re-constructed in 1944 after a tornado collapsed the main span.
In another mad dash, crews moved all equipment out of the flood plain when forecasts predicted a river surge of 20 feet in only six days, putting the jobsite 5 feet under water. However, the storms moved just to the south, and the river only reached the top of the banks.
Tornado cleanup efforts in Perryville, Mo.
People and safety success
The vast majority of Ames team members on this project were hired locally. Local team members who have risen to Ames foreman roles are leading all of the bridge crews.
Crew members are working 50 feet below water levels in a cofferdam and up to 250 feet in the air. The project team spends considerable time developing plans so that crews can access and perform the work safely. These efforts include devising multiple levels of protections against hazards. The result was a safety record of zero recordable incidents or lost time in 2024. 👏
