HANNIBAL – Although much of the progress area residents have witnessed on construction of the new Champ Clark Bridge in Louisiana, MO has been constructing piers in the river, several other tasks have been done on land including finalizing the design of the new bridge. “The U.S. Route 54 corridor over the Mississippi River has been in existence for nearly 100 years, so while we look forward to having a new bridge to cross, we are also evaluating how we can preserve the history of the original bridge,” said Missouri Department of Transportation Area Engineer Brian Haeffner.
Work began on the new bridge and U.S. 54/MO 79 intersection last fall. The intersection work is completed, and the new bridge is expected to be open to traffic in the fall of 2019. Massman Construction Company was awarded the contract with their submitted design-build entry.
Currently, crews are working on piers in the river, although they have been having to work around the weather and the ice in the river. The Champ Clark Bridge team has also been working with area schools to identify a way to incorporate pieces of the old bridge into an interpretive panel that will be on display in Louisiana. “This is a competition utilizing the schools’ STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematical) groups, and we have six schools involved,” Haeffner explained.
One way to stay informed is to subscribe to MoDOT’s e-update service. A “Champ Clark Bridge” web page is also available.
“In addition to sharing information about the bridge project, we can discuss what we do, how we involve groups and individuals in the decisions we make, and how you can help shape the future of transportation including making it safer,” Haeffner said. “There are other projects in the area including the upcoming bridge replacements on Missouri Route 79 south of Clarksville and the resurfacing of U.S. Route 54 between Bassinger Corner and Curryville,” he added.