Cement pour on new Emerson bridge continues through today

Cape Girardeau's bridge project is getting more concrete.

About 5.8 million pounds of cement is scheduled to be poured for the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bride over an 18-hour period that began at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and was scheduled to end today, state highway officials said.

The concrete will cap the top of the caisson for a pier near the Illinois shore. About 15 million pounds of cement were poured into the caisson in September to begin the foundation work on that pier, Missouri Department of Transportation officials said.

Officials said motorists should use caution as cement trucks enter and leave the work site.

When it's finished, the bridge across the Mississippi River will include 250 million pounds of concrete, highway officials said.