Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
Illinois Route 150
Illinois Route 150 (IL 150) is a east–west state road in southern Illinois. It runs from the Chester Bridge, a truss bridge over the Mississippi River to Route 51 in the state of Missouri, to IL 154 in rural Perry County well west of Pinck ...
across the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
between
Perryville, Missouri
Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census. Perryville is the county seat of Perry County.
History
Perryville was selected the county seat of Pe ...
and
Chester, Illinois
Chester is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, United States, on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The population was 6,814 at the 2020 census. It lies south of St. Louis, Missouri.
History Founding
Samuel Smith is ...
. It is the only motor-traffic bridge spanning the Mississippi River between
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
and
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citie ...
.
History
Located at river mile marker 109.5, the Chester Bridge is a two-lane traffic truss bridge which was constructed by Sverdrup and Parcel and Associates, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri. Construction began in 1941 and was finished in 1942 at a cost of $1.385 million (1942 dollars).
The bridge opened on August 23, 1942, and operated as a
toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...
until January 1, 1989. The main span was destroyed by a severe tornadic force thunderstorm on July 29, 1944, and reconstructed 2 years later. The bridge serves about 6,400 vehicles per day.
Up to 1989, a toll was charged for crossing the bridge.
Inspections in 2020 showed the bridge structure to be "functionally obsolete" and in poor condition, imposing a weight limit of 25 tons. The
Missouri Department of Transportation
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT, ) is a state government organization in charge of maintaining public roadways of the U.S. state of Missouri under the guidance of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. MoDOT designs, ...
plans to replace the bridge by 2028.
Chester Welcome Center
The Chester Welcome Center is located in Segar Park next to the Chester Bridge and overlooks the Mississippi River. The park was dedicated to
E. C. Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip ''Thimble ...
who was born on December 8, 1894, in Chester, Illinois. Segar is most noted for his cartoon comic "
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.In the Heat of the Night'', although in the film a highway sign for the (non-existent) "Arkansas 49" highway appears on the east (Illinois) side of the bridge.
Gallery
File:Lewis and Clark, Segar Park, Chester Bridge, Chester, Illinois.jpg, Lewis and Clark
File:The Chester Bridge plaque, Segar Park, Chester Bridge, Chester, Illinois.jpg, Chester Bridge plaque
File:The Mighty Mississippi plaque, Segar Park, Chester Bridge, Chester, Illinois.jpg, Mighty Mississippi River plaque
File:Flood of 1993 plaque, Segar Park, Chester Bridge, Chester, Illinois.jpg, Flood of 1993 plaque