Ames Construction Sets Final Girder on Don Welge Memorial Bridge
Ames team installs the final girder segment on the Don Welge Memorial Bridge spanning the Mississippi River. This milestone comes after more than two and a half years of steady progress, careful planning, and craftsmanship. The final section locked into place with remarkable accuracy—an achievement made possible by a team of people committed to quality and precision. Congratulations to the entire project team for this accomplishment.
The new bridge is being constructed upstream of the existing 80‑year‑old Chester Bridge, which connects Perryville, Missouri, to Chester, Illinois. Recent progress includes the following achievements:
- Setting the last of 350 panels that were precast on-site.
- Pulling the last strand in the stay system, amounting to approximately 1 million linear feet of stay cables.
- Assembling and erecting over 5.9 million pounds of structural steel as part of the bridge’s superstructure.
People and safety success
The majority of the Ames team members on the project were recruited locally, and many have advanced into leadership positions. Local team members who have risen to Ames foreman roles are now guiding every bridge crew, strengthening both the team’s expertise and its connection to the surrounding communities.
Working as high as 250 feet above the Mississippi River, crews have relied on extensive planning and layered safety protections. The project team dedicates significant time to developing access strategies, safe‑work procedures, and multiple levels of hazard mitigation to ensure every worker can perform their tasks safely and efficiently.
