Bridging the gap

The hiss of a welding torch, the whine of a moving crane, the hum of a boat motor, the ping of metal hitting metal and the occasional shout of a construction worker were just a few of the sounds heard on the cold and windy construction site of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge Thursday morning.

But from about 80 feet above the river and a few hundred feet to the north of the construction work, all Helen Crump of Chaffee, Mo., can hear is the constant thump of her tires hitting the numerous patches and dips on the existing bridge

"It seems every week there's an extra bump," she said.

Regular travelers of the existing narrow, bumpy, two-lane bridge can't wait for the new four-lane Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge to be completed. And though the progress may seem slow to casual observers, the Missouri Department of Transportation and Traylor Brothers, Inc., say the work has gone according to plan and the bridge is still on schedule to be completed by the fall of 2003.

"I hope this one lasts until they get the new one finished," said Ruth Pfefferkorn, who often makes the trip to Illinois with Crump.

Over the last several months, noticeable progression has been made.

A towering 300-foot pier, referred to as Pier 2, can be seen for miles. It is one of the first landmarks motorists see when they enter Cape Girardeau on Kingshighway from the north. Pier 2 can also be seen from the intersection of highways 146 and 3 in Illinois, said Nola Heisner of Olive Branch, Ill.

Heisner travels the bridge almost daily.

"I'll be glad when it's done," she said. "Those cars take a beating."

Pier 2, located near the shore of the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, is almost completed and workers are about eight or nine months from finishing an identical pier, to be called Pier 3, in the middle of the river.

"Things have been going smoothly," said Scott Meyer, MoDOT district engineer. "We've had good weather and it looks like we're still on schedule."

Traylor, which was awarded the $53.7-million contract for the bridge's main span, has turned much of its attention to Pier 3. Work began Oct. 29 on the stem pour for Pier 3 and now, because work is being done above water level, labor is less affected by river stages. The pier has been built to road level and at the end of this month or the beginning of February, work will begin on the two large tower legs.

"The winter has been pretty good," said Sky Lee, project engineer for Traylor. "The river is fairly low and there hasn't been too many jumps in the river stages."

Pier 4, the last approach pier from the Illinois side, will be much smaller than Piers 2 and 3. The stem will be somewhat shorter and it won't have the tall legs like the others. That pier is still in its early stages. Workers will begin to sink the caisson -- an enormous metal concrete form -- into the bedrock for Pier 4 in the next four to six weeks, Lee said.

Kevin Plott, an intermediate instruction inspector for MoDOT, said underwater work will be done on Pier 4 during the next few months.

"We're pretty well going according to plan," Plott said.

Pier 1, which is near completion, is located on the western bank of the Mississippi River. There are many other piers past Pier 4 on the Illinois side that have been completed.

The estimated cost of the bridge is $100 million.

Eighty percent of the funding will come from the federal government, while Missouri and Illinois will each contribute 10 percent.

The four-lane structure will be 100-feet wide and 4,000-feet long and will be illuminated at night by 140 lights.

"I think it will be a beautiful bridge when it's finished," Crump said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127