MoDOT: Repairs complete for now

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Repair work on the Chester Bridge took much less time than engineers originally estimated. When the project — along with a significant reduction in the bridge’s weight allowance from 40 tons to 25 tons that could have caused significant issues for local industry — was first announced Sept. 4 by the Missouri Department of Transportation, initial estimates put the length of the project at potentially two months. In the end it was more like a short week. Last Wednesday, MoDOT announced that the work had been completed and the 40-ton weight allowance would be restored the next day. MoDOT’s Southeast District engineer Mark Croarkin told the Republic-Monitor the rapid completion came down to fortunate circumstances. “It couldn’t have gone better,” Croarkin said. “We had good weather, we had good details, we didn’t have to contract it out — just everything fell in place. That really wasn’t where we were on the Friday before Labor Day weekend.” MoDOT’s decision to reduce the weight allowance on the 78-year-old bridge came after a detailed inspection by HDR, an engineering consulting firm contracted by MoDOT. “They had a whole list of problems with [the bridge] and came back with load-rating recommendations and we weren’t sure exactly how we were going to repair it,” Croarkin said. “If I get kind of specific, there were some weld details that needed work. Welds on old structures are pretty sensitive and we had to work around that. We really didn’t know that we were going to be able to do it with our own crews. It was one of those things that we thought we might have to contract out. We knew it was bad enough that we had to drop the load posting. So we told everybody where we were. ‘This may take a while, but we have to do what’s safe.’” As a result, MoDOT announced on Sept. 4 it would be lowering the weight allowance on the Chester Bridge to 25 tons — effectively closing the only river crossing between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau to most tractor-trailer traffic — in order to make the necessary repairs. Croarkin said the repair plans produced following HDR’s inspection made it clear that MoDOT crews could complete the work themselves. “They’re a great firm to work with,” Croarkin said. “They produced plans that were very easy for us to do with our own crews over the holiday weekend. We called in equipment and crews from all over and we just hit it as hard as we could because we know this is a huge impact to the community.” MoDOT’s initial announcement of the project caused much concern among local farmers and businesses, many of whom rely on the bridge as an integral part of their daily operations, making up a large portion of the more than 6,400 vehicles that use the bridge across the Mississippi River each day. “We were very surprised and concerned to receive that call (notifying us of the weight reduction],” said Tom Welge, CEO of Gilster-Mary Lee in Chester, a food packaging corporation that operates several plants on both sides of the river and relies on the bridge not only for its workers but also its shipping fleet. “This is going into our busiest time of the year historically.” A story published in the Sept. 10 issue of the Republic-Monitor — which went to press before MoDOT made its announcement on Sept. 9 — detailed the struggles many local businesses and farmers would face if the weight restriction remained in place. The closest alternate routes — the Jefferson Barracks bridge to the north and the Bill Emerson Bridge to the south — can add, on average, approximately two hours to a trip that usually takes considerably less, even on a round trip, potentially adding tens of thousands of dollars in extra shipping costs for farmers and other industries. Those difficulties, Croarkin said, formed much of his determination to get the work completed as quickly as possible, with MoDOT calling in crews and equipment from Jefferson City, St. Louis and all over the Southeast District. “There may be some other things we have to fix, but we knew we had to take care of this quick,” Croarkin said. “We jumped on it right away. On a 78-year-old bridge, there’s a lot of rust underneath — there’s just a ton to look at. There were a few places where the top flange was really pretty well gone. We had to take the deck off and put some new plates on it and work around some welds, but we got that taken care of pretty quick.” Croarkin, who was named the Southeast District engineer on Sept. 1, said the best solution is going to be replacing the bridge, a project currently projected for 2028 for an estimated cost of approximately $140 million. “If you found a way to help me get $140 million, I’d be all over replacing this bridge,” Croarkin said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure it stays open and that the community has use of the bridge until we can replace it. Right now, we’re working on, ‘What does it take to push it down the road a little bit more?’” MoDOT does have a bridge rehabilitation project programmed for 2021, which should allow the bridge to remain operational until the projected date for the replacement project.