TRAFFIC FLOWS: CHESTER BRICGE CONSTRUCTION ON HOLD; TRAVELERS WELCOME TWO-WAY TRAFFIC

CHESTER, Ill. -- Two-way traffic is once again moving on the Mississippi River Bridge at Chester.

The bridge, which is undergoing sandblasting and painting of all steel and guard rails, has been restricted to one-way traffic since April of this year.

The one-way traffic has been turned off for the winter, said a spokesperson with the Missouri Department of Transportation office at Park Hill.

Work will resume on the bridge in early spring, with an anticipated May 1 completion date.

MoDOT officials say it will probably be more like July before the work is completed.

The project to repaint and renovate the Chester bridge was announced early in 1997, but work was delayed until mid-to-late May because of the rising Mississippi River.

The $4.7 million renovation, which will include sandblasting and repainting of all steel and guard rails and deck repairs, is 49 percent complete, said officials Thursday.

During the past six months, motor traffic across the bridge has been limited to one lane. All vehicles, including farm machinery, crossing the bridge of Route 51 have been limited to no more than 10 feet wide and 14 feet tall.

Automated traffic signals equipped with electronic sensors have been controlling traffic but motorists have suffered some delays during peak travel hours.

About 6,200 vehicles a day crossed the bridge in 1996.

Global Construction Inc. of Holiday, Fla., is the primary contractor for the project. Work is being done under the supervision of the Missouri Department of Transportation's project office at Park Hills.

Contracts were awarded in December 1996.

The Chester bridge links Illinois Route 150 in Randolph County with Missouri Route 51 in Perry County.

The contract calls for 100 working days, but the weather could be a factor as far as the actual amount of time it will take to complete the work.

The Chester bridge has been in existence for more than 50 years. It was completed in August 1942, but remained open less than two years.

In July 1944, the main span of the bridge was destroyed by a tornado. The reconstructed bridge was reopened to traffic in September 1946.

It was operated by the city of Chester as a toll bridge until Jan. 1, 1989, when Missouri agreed to take over operation and maintenance of the span. The old toll house on the Illinois side of the river was removed in 1993.