CH2M, a global engineering company, has been selected by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Southeast District to provide an Environmental Assessment (EA) as well as to design a safe and reliable Route 51 Mississippi River crossing, in order to upgrade the ageing bridge infrastructure.

The contract has been awarded to CH2M as it has been positioned as the go-to consultant for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) work in Missouri.

Originally, the Route 51 Bridge was constructed in 1942 but was once again reconstructed in 1944, after it was heavily damaged due to a severe storm that destroyed the main span of the bridge.

The truss bridge is reported to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and has been declared as functionally obsolete, or no longer adequate because of its outdated design.

As part of the project, CH2M will extend its support in evaluating the available options in order to provide a safe, reliable Mississippi River crossing.

The EA will study the engineering and environmental considerations and will be focusing on general location, mode choice, known environmental and cultural resource constraints, area-wide quality and land use implications.

"The work our team is conducting today will ensure the design of a safe crossing and continued economic vitality for communities on both sides of the Mississippi River."

The EA process will find out if the proposed options would lead to any significant impacts, including replacing the existing bridge.

CH2M Global Highways and Bridges practice director Bryan Nicol said: "While MoDOT begins looking at upgrades to the ageing Route 51 Bridge infrastructure, taking traffic, tourism, seismic activity and environmental needs into consideration will be vital.

"The work our team is conducting today will ensure the design of a safe crossing and continued economic vitality for communities on both sides of the Mississippi River."

Currently, the bridge is being used by nearly 6,500 vehicles on a day to day basis, as it is the single river crossing option for commuters travelling between Perry County, Missouri and Chester, Illinois.

Image: MoDOT selects CH2M to upgrade ageing bridge infrastructure. Photo: courtesy of CH2M.