SIKESTON, Mo. –As part of the project to replace the Chester Bridge over the Mississippi River, the Missouri Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation are currently reevaluating the Environmental Assessment (EA) completed in 2021, however, Project Manager Brian Okenfuss said the re-evaluation would not delay the new bridge.
The Chester Bridge replacement project will replace the MO 51/IL 150 bridge over the Mississippi River between the cities of Perryville, Missouri and Chester, Illinois.
Due to additional design that has progressed since the initial evaluation, the following revisions to the 2021 EA will be evaluated:
Reasonable Build Alternatives: The Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) identified U1 (Near Upstream Conceptual Alternative) as the selected alternative for the Chester Bridge replacement. After further engineering and evaluation, the design-build team has determined U2 (Far Upstream Conceptual Alternative) as described in the EA should be retained to allow maximum design flexibility to address engineering and environmental constraints. This potential impact footprint is larger than previously evaluated in the EA/FONSI. (Click here to access an aerial displaying the U1 and U2 footprints.)
Hydrology: As described in the EA/FONSI, construction of the Chester and Horse Island Chute Bridges will be primarily constrained by the need to comply with no-rise requirements, which prohibits any measurable rise in water surface elevations for the 100-year flood condition. Based on the project site, river access and staging areas may be needed upstream of the existing bridge outside of the original selected alternative’s U1 footprint. This may require dredging within the Mississippi River to facilitate contractor access to all bridge spans during low water from these access points. As such, the project footprint has been expanded to accommodate an approximate 16-acre dredging area within the Mississippi River. The dredging limits extend approximately 1,200 feet upstream of the existing bridge and approximately 300 feet downstream of the existing bridge.
To comply with national and state environmental legislation, MoDOT is mandated to consider the potential impacts of its projects on natural and social resources. Legislation such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 was passed in response to growing public concern for the environment. Interested persons may review the previously completed documents and share their thoughts at www.modot.org/chesterbridge. Comments will be accepted through Friday, May 27 as part of the reevaluation of the EA.
MoDOT expects the reevaluation of the EA to be completed by June 2022.