The Don Welge Memorial Bridge, which connects Perryville and Chester across the Mississippi River, was partially opened Saturday, with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The Bridge, located next to the old Chester Iron Bridge and named for the late Don Welge, former CEO of Gilster Mary Lee, will be fully open for traffic later in July.
Representatives from both the Illinois and Missouri sides of the bridge were in attendance to celebrate the completion of the project which began in 2023, and to speak to the hundreds of people from both communities who walked the bridge before the unveiling of the road sign and the ribbon cutting.
In his speech, Perryville City Administrator Brent Buereck spoke about what Welge meant to both communities, highlighting how easy it was to get everyone to agree to naming the bridge after him, which he said does not always happen easily.
“With very little effort, we were able to convince lawmakers on both sides, one blue state and one red state to name the bridge after a single individual. Person after person, lawmaker after lawmaker supported the idea of the namesake for this bridge and that it needed to equal the size and scope of the bridge itself. An iconic bridge would require an iconic name. From what I understood at the time that becomes a fail point for a lot of communities, but we got through it with relative ease,” Buereck said. “We got through because of the state legislatures who carried the language. But also because of Don and who he was and what he represented to our communities and who the people that serve those communities are today. My mayor and alderman never said we needed a name from Missouri. Our commissioners never said the person had to come from Perry County. Democrats never said it had to be a Republican. We presented a plan and everyone understood the goal. No one has ever connected our communities the way Don did and no piece of infrastructure will ever connect us like this bridge will.”
The bridge replaces the Chester Iron Bridge, which was completed in 1942. Several speakers noted that Welge was an early advocate for replacing the bridge, and avidly supported the building of a new bridge throughout the later years of his life, adding to the significance of the bridge being named in his honor.
A few people who were at the opening of the old bridge as well as the new one in the crowd were recognized.
Ames construction, who completed the project, were recognized by the speakers as well, who highlighted the safe and efficient completion of the bridge throughout all the challenges and bad weather that took place during construction.
“let’s take a big shout out to all the workers, men and women, the families of support that got this thing built in about 600,000 man hours, less than three years, through the floods, through the droughts, through rain, the wind, and snow and all that and got it built,” a representative from Ames construction said. “They worked six days a week, some Sundays, a couple double shifts. We worked on it all because Brian (Okenfuss) told us that we’d be there on July 1st. We missed it by that much, but we’re still very proud where we got and got this bridge to where it is, and it’s done very safely. No ambulance has ever had to come to the job site, so that’s a very proud position.”
Tom Welge, the son of Don Welge who took over the company as CEO following his father’s passing, spoke of his fathers legacy and about how much time and effort he put into pushing for a new bridge.
“If you ever talk to him about it in the last 15 years or so of his life, you probably got the full presentation. And if you didn’t, he was probably looking for the chance,” Welge said. “He understood what this crossing meant, not just in the abstract, but in real life. He knew how much people depended on it every single day. And he didn’t let it drop. He was a salesman his whole life, and he never did learn to take no for an answer. For years, he kept pushing, writing letters, making calls and visits, asking questions. Doing the kind of steady behind the scenes work that doesn’t always get noticed, but makes things like this possible.”
Welge closed his speech with what he said he believes the opening of the bridge means for the cities of Chester and Perryville, and the surrounding areas both now and in the future.
“Bridges matter because they bring people together. They connect communities, families, and economies. They make things possible that wouldn’t happen otherwise. And some of the people who will depend on this bridge the most haven’t even been born yet. That’s the whole point of building things right, doing it not just for today, but for the future. What was built here doesn’t just serve this moment. It helps shape what this region can become,’ Welge said. “This bridge is the result of years of work by so many people on both sides of the river. If my dad were here today, I know exactly what he’d say. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. And thank you for continuing the work of building not just this bridge, but everything it stands for. This bridge will do what this place has always done. Connect us and carry us forward.”
Don Welge’s widow, Mary Alice Welge, along with the rest of the Welge family, concluded the ceremony by helping unveil the highway sign and cutting the ribbon to open the bridge.
