Chester Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge

|bridge_name= Chester Bridge

|image= Chester IL Mississippi River bridge 3324.jpg

|caption= Chester Bridge in July 2012

|image_size=300px

|official_name=

|also_known_as=

|carries= 2 lanes of {{jct|state=MO|MO|51}}/{{jct|state=IL|IL|150}}

|crosses= Mississippi River

|locale= Perryville, Missouri and Chester, Illinois

|maint= Missouri Department of Transportation

|id=

|design= Continuous truss bridge

|mainspan= {{convert|670|ft|m|0}}

|length= {{convert|2826|ft|m|0}}

|width= {{convert|22|ft|m|0}}

|clearance=

|below= {{convert|104|ft|m|0}}

|traffic=

|open= August 23, 1942

|closed=

|toll=

|map_cue=

|map_image=

|map_text=

|map_width=

|coordinates={{coord|37|54|11|N|89|50|11|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

}}

The Chester Bridge is a continuous truss bridge connecting Missouri's Route 51 with Illinois Route 150 across the Mississippi River between Perryville, Missouri and Chester, Illinois. It is the only motor-traffic bridge spanning the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri.{{cite web |title=City of Chester, Illinois |url= http://www.chesterill.com/recreation/historical-sites/chester-bridge/ |accessdate=2015-07-08}}

History

Located at river mile marker 109.5, the Chester Bridge is a two-lane traffic truss bridge which was constructed by Sverdrup and Parcel and Associates, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri. Construction began in 1941 and was finished in 1942 at a cost of $1.385 million (1942 dollars).

The bridge opened on August 23, 1942, and operated as a toll bridge until January 1, 1989.[http://www.modot.org/historicmaps/documents/1953_002_reduced.pdf Map of the Missouri State Highway System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913011237/http://www.modot.org/historicmaps/documents/1953_002_reduced.pdf |date=2012-09-13 }} as of January 1, 1953 It replaced a ferry service that had been used to cross the river for many years. The bridge was constructed by the Massman Construction Company and designed as a cantilever structure, which allows for longer spans without the need for supporting piers in the river channel, a key feature in large river crossings.{{Cite web |last=www.megabytesonline.net |first=MEGABYTES- |title=Chester Bridge {{!}} Chester, Illinois |url=https://www.chesterill.com/recreation/historical-sites/chester-bridge/ |access-date=2024-09-04 |language=en}} The main span was destroyed by a severe tornadic force thunderstorm on July 29, 1944, and reconstructed 2 years later. The bridge serves about 6,400 vehicles per day.{{cite web |title=Bridgehunter.com |url=http://bridgehunter.com/il/randolph/chester |accessdate=2015-07-08}}

Up to 1989, a toll was charged for crossing the bridge.{{Cite web|title=History {{!}} Missouri Department of Transportation|url=https://www.modot.org/chesterbridge/history|access-date=2021-02-17|website=www.modot.org}}

Future

The first plans for a new bridge were developed in March 2018,{{cite web|title=Environmental study being conducted on the Chester, IL Bridge|url=https://www.kfvs12.com/story/37650965/environmental-study-being-conducted-on-the-chester-il-bridge/|last=Ruch|first=Amber|website=KFVS-TV|date=March 14, 2018|access-date=December 26, 2023}} Inspections in 2020 showed the bridge structure to be "functionally obsolete" and in poor condition, imposing a weight limit of 25 tons.{{Cite web|last=Mandy Robertson|date=2020-09-04|title=Weight limit on Chester Bridge reduced to 25 tons|url=https://wsiltv.com/2020/09/04/weight-limit-on-chester-bridge-reduced-to-25-tons/|access-date=2021-02-17|website=WSIL|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Chester Bridge {{!}} Missouri Department of Transportation|url=https://www.modot.org/chesterbridge|access-date=2021-02-17|website=www.modot.org}}{{Cite web|last=Writer|first=Pete SpitlerStaff|title=MoDOT evaluating Chester Bridge for replacement|url=https://www.starcourier.com/news/20160815/modot-evaluating-chester-bridge-for-replacement|access-date=2021-02-17|website=Star Courier - Kewanee, IL|language=en|archive-date=2021-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009014201/https://www.starcourier.com/news/20160815/modot-evaluating-chester-bridge-for-replacement|url-status=dead}} The Missouri Department of Transportation originally planned to replace the bridge by 2028, but shortened the time-frame to 2026. Construction on a new bridge began in September 2023.{{cite web|title=Construction on the Route 51 Mississippi River Bridge Begins in Perry County|url=https://www.modot.org/node/34248|website=Missouri Department of Transportation|date=September 5, 2023|access-date=December 26, 2023}}{{cite web|title=Crews start construction work on the new Chester Bridge this week|url=https://www.wsiltv.com/news/top-stories/crews-start-construction-work-on-the-new-chester-bridge-this-week/article_f6e04b1a-4c6d-11ee-93b0-1fd41f329249.html|last=Mohundro|first=Mike|website=WSILTV|date=September 5, 2023|access-date=December 26, 2023}} The new bridge, the Don Welge Memorial Bridge, will be a more modern cable-stayed bridge. The estimated cost of the replacement bridge is approximately $284 million.{{cite web|title=MoDOT Selects Team to Replace Chester Bridge|url=https://www.modot.org/node/28054|website=Missouri Department of Transportation|date=March 8, 2023|access-date=December 26, 2023}}

Chester Welcome Center

File:Popeye Statue, Segar Park, Chester Bridge, Chester, Illinois.jpg

The Chester Welcome Center is located in Segar Park next to the Chester Bridge and overlooks the Mississippi River. The park was dedicated to E. C. Segar who was born on December 8, 1894, in Chester, Illinois.{{cite web |url= http://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Popeye-Character-Trail-Brochure.pdf |date= July 2012 |accessdate= July 8, 2015 |publisher=City of Chester, Illinois |title= Popeye Character Trail Map }} Segar is most noted for his cartoon comic "Popeye” which he created in 1929 from his recollections of a local scrapper on the Mississippi River. A six-foot “life-size” bronze statue of Popeye stands near the bridge.{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZEk3wxNoGoC&q=chester+illinois+&pg=PA120 | title = Mississippi River: Historic Sites and Interesting Places | isbn = 9781467562508 | author1 = Jerry Hay | year = 2013| publisher = Inland Waterways }}{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z4yOJaTf2MC&dq=chester+illinois+bridge&pg=PA239 | title = Oddball Illinois | isbn = 9781613740354

| author1 = Jerome Pohlen | year = 2012| publisher = Chicago Review Press }}

Popular culture

The Chester Bridge can be seen in the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night, although in the film a highway sign for the (non-existent) "Arkansas 49" highway appears on the east (Illinois) side of the bridge.