Ribbon cutting for Don Welge Memorial Bridge set for July 11
FOX23 News at 9 p.m
SIKESTON, Mo. (KBSI) — The Missouri and Illinois departments of transportation will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, July 11, to celebrate the opening of the Don Welge Memorial Bridge.
The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on the new bridge, which spans the Mississippi River and connects Perryville, Missouri, and Chester, Illinois, via Missouri Route 51 and Illinois Route 150.
The project was awarded in March 2023 to the Ames Team, a partnership between Ames Construction Inc. and Parsons Transportation Group. The new three-tower cable-stayed bridge represents a joint investment of approximately $307.1 million by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Public access to the bridge will begin at 9 a.m. on the day of the event.
Media covering the ceremony will have access to a limited parking area with a parking pass. Drivers approaching from Missouri Route 51 should enter through the project entrance located between the Horse Island Chute Bridge and the Chester Bridge.
Officials said left turns into the event from the Illinois side of the bridge will not be allowed. Visitors traveling from Illinois should continue across the bridge to the Missouri side, turn around at County Road 239 behind the convenience store, then return via County Road 238 and Missouri Route 51.
Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate footwear, as access to the ceremony site requires walking across a gravel lot and up an incline. Drones will not be permitted during the event.
