ST. LOUIS — On Thursday, crews worked to lift the final truss of the Merchants Bridge into place over the Mississippi River. It's one of the last pieces of the years-long construction puzzle.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime project to rebuild a Mississippi River bridge," Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Chief Engineer, Eric Fields, tells 5 On Your Side.
He says hanging a new bridge takes a team, both off and on the river. Fields is especially grateful for the skilled tradesmen who worked through brutally hot days and bitter cold ones, "hats off to all the people that made this happen."
Construction on the Merchants Bridge is wrapping up, but it's not the end of bridgework over the mighty Mississippi River.
Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President for Multi-Modal Enterprises at Bi-State Development told 5 On Your Side Thursday, "Once they set that final truss today, they'll make some final improvements for all the connections and we're hoping they'll have it open to all rail traffic by late September or October."
The next project for Lamie's group is Interstate 270, the Chain of Rocks Bridge. The work is fully funded and coming in at a little over $600 million. Lamie says construction on 270 will start later this year.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.