Emerson Bridge opens crossing into new era

Many gaps had to be leapt to build the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge: 4,000 feet across the Mississippi River, Illinois' initial reluctance to join in the project, different political allegiances on each side of the river, and technical problems with the bedrock that stopped construction for a time. When dedicated today, the $100 million bridge will symbolize the region's commitment to progress.

"Bridges bring people together. Their purpose is to unite people," said Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University.

More than 15 years of planning and seven years of construction will culminate today with prayers, singing and speeches planned for the dedication of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. The ceremonies at 9 this morning occur 75 years after the first bridge across the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau opened. The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge replaces a bridge that served the community well but is worn out and will be torn down next year.

The new bridge enhances the opportunity for Cape Girardeau to serve a wider area, Nickell said. "I think it will make this town have a higher-quality image."

Citing construction projects under way or pending, such as the River Campus, the federal courthouse and the nature center in Cape Girardeau, Nickell said, "Now there are more reasons to come to Cape Girardeau than ever before, and it's much easier and attractive to come here."

The unusual beauty of the bridge "will make it an attraction," Nickell said, "so the town becomes an attraction."

The four-lane, cable-stayed structure is one of only 33 bridges of its kind in the United States. "They're kind of rare in the world," said Scott Meyer, district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The bridge's economic impact will be immediate and is unlimited, said Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson. A proposal to route Interstate 66 through Cape Girardeau is viable only because of the bridge, he said. "If we don't have that bridge, we don't have the right to be in the game for the I-66 corridor."

John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, thinks the bridge gives Cape Girardeau a good chance to acquire the I-66 route.

"There is no doubt that if and when it ends up as a piece of the east-west access for this area, it is huge for the entire region, not just Cape Girardeau," he said.

Fourteen thousand vehicles cross the only 22-foot-wide Mississippi River bridge each day, but officials suspect the count would be much higher if not for the bridge's deteriorating condition.

"We think some people have been avoiding it," Meyer said.

Cape Girardeau legal secretary Tana Howard has. She hasn't crossed Mississippi River Bridge in years.

"The old bridge always gave me the 'whim-whams,'" she said.

She likes the way the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge looks. "Something newer you hope is stronger and sturdier," she said. "It looks like it has been constructed in a way you can trust."

The new bridge is projected to carry 26,000 vehicles per day by 2015.

The bridge is a career project for a transportation engineer like Meyer. "A lot of people have been through this and never built one," he said. "It happens once in a lifetime."

He is proudest of the engineers and construction workers who were out on the bridge every day "making sure Missourians got their value and solving problems. They routinely had to solve problems building this bridge."

Retiree Naomi Crain thinks more people will come to Cape Girardeau because of the bridge. The bridge is particularly important to her because of the fish dinners available on the other side. A physical problem has kept her from getting out lately so her husband, Clemon, crosses the bridge into Illinois to buy carryout.

"As rough as that old bridge is, we certainly need a new one," Crain said.

To her, the river is synonymous with Cape Girardeau.

The new bridge will make the river more accessible, Nickell said. "It's going to give greater attention to the river. It will enable us to view the river differently.

"It will make the river more spectacular to visitors, and it will force us to do more to tell the story of the river and Cape Girardeau," he said. "It's going to unite Cape Girardeau."

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182