ILLINOIS EARMARKS FUNDS FOR BRIDGE

The Illinois Department of Transportation will spend almost $14 million over the next five years toward construction of the Mississippi River bridge and approach work along Route 146 to the bridge.

The money is part of more than $151 million the state will spend over the next five years for road improvements in the state's 13 southernmost counties.

About $9.7 million will be spent on the bridge and $4 million on approach work along Route 146 from east of East Cape Girardeau to the bridge.

The four-lane bridge just south of the existing bridge at Cape Girardeau is expected to cost about $78 million, with 80 percent of the funding to be provided by the federal government.

Transportation officials from Missouri and Illinois have reached an agreement on the remaining funds, and the first phase of construction is expected to get under way this fall.

"We're pleased to see the project proceeding," said Don Bridgewater, program development engineer for District 9 of the Illinois Department of Transportation. "This is a much-needed project and we're glad to see things progressing."

Bridgewater was present at the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department's pre-bid meeting of contractors Tuesday at Cape Girardeau, where preliminary plans and specifications were discussed.

The bridge project will consist of construction of the cable-stayed main span -- the substructure, superstructure and deck -- and the west-side approach to the bridge.

The pre-bid meeting was held in advance of the June 28 bid openings for the first phase of bridge construction. Missouri is the lead state in the bridge construction.

Meanwhile, Illinois will have a bid-letting in August for bridge approach grading work on Route 146 east of the bridge, said Bridgewater.

Illinois will spend about $4 million to construct 1.1 miles of four-lane pavement from the east abutment of the bridge to North Bader Lane.

Construction of the bridge could begin by fall, said Larry Rohr, district design engineer for the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department at Sikeston.

The first step in construction of the bridge will be to sink pilings in the river. An initial $1 million has been approved for the bridge, which will replace the two-lane span that opened in 1928.

Leaders in the effort to secure the funding include U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau, who gives special credit to his House colleague, Rep. Jerry Costello of Illinois, and to Missouri Sen. Christopher Bond.

Costello, D-Belleville, praised the decision of the Federal Highway Administration to award the first $1 million for the work, saying the new bridge is a necessary link between Illinois and Missouri.

Total cost of the project, including bridge approaches and other related improvements on both sides of the river, is expected to top $133 million.