MoDOT-IDOT News Release
ILLINIS-MISSOURI State Line – On Saturday, July 11, the Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation were joined by local officials and dignitaries, representatives from the Design-Build contractor team, and hundreds of excited community members to celebrate completion of the Don Welge Memorial Bridge.
The new bridge replaces the Chester Bridge, which was built in 1942 and had reached the end of its life. This bridge provides a vital connection from Perryville, MO to Chester, IL via MO 51/IL 150 across the Mississippi River.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony represents the culmination of years of collaboration, planning, design and construction. Speakers from the Missouri and Illinois sides of the project, as well as Welge’s family, spoke about the importance of this bistate partnership and honored the new bridge’s namesake, who would have turned 91 years old on the day of the event.
The bridge was named after Don Welge, a Chester native who became one of southern Illinois’s most influential businessmen. As the president and CEO of the Gilster Mary-Lee Corporation and a driving force behind economic development, Welge realized the impact this major river bridge has on interstate commerce. The bridge carries 7,000 vehicles daily, with approximately 25% being commercial motor vehicle traffic.
The project features a three-tower, cable-stayed bridge and represents a combined investment of approximately $307.1 million by MoDOT and IDOT. A pair of behind-the-scenes videos have been released on MoDOT’s YouTube channel. The first video – https://youtu.be/eVH1JO4aomc?si=wdkspJXnzuUCkF4y – looks at the history of the Chester Bridge and early construction process on the new bridge. The second video – https://youtu.be/8vG3C5IfpN8?si=pDMNJvJM5wHoNILv – focuses on the end of the project and the ribbon-cutting event.
The livestream of the event has over 35,000 views and counting. Watch the ceremony on Watch the ceremony on MoDOT Southeast’s Facebook page and and view photos from the event on Flickr.
The nearly completed Don Welge Memorial Bridge opened to one lane of traffic on July 13. A full bridge opening is anticipated by the end of July.
Visit www.modot.org/DonWelge for more information.