SDDOT - Notable Projects

Missouri River Crossing South of Vermillion

The project consisted of building an approach on the South Dakota side of the Bridge and building the Bridge.

The approach is approximately 4.8 miles in length and consists of grading through natural areas and farmland. The approach included 300,000 cubic yards of borrow material provided by the Contractor and also included 209,000 cubic yards of excavated material. The new grade was surfaced with 91,000 tons of base course and 26,000 tons of asphalt concrete. Bank Stabilization was necessary on the South Dakota bank of the Missouri River near and upstream from the bridge. 42,000 tons of Riprap measuring 4,270 feet in length were utilized for bank protection.

The Bridge is a 2,455-foot Continuous Composite Steel Girder Bridge. It is 36 feet in width and includes two driving lanes, shoulders and barrier rail. The bridge includes twelve spans requiring 7,100 cubic yards of concrete and 2 million pounds of reinforcing steel.

Design of the roadway was done by Banner and Associates of Brookings, SD and the design of the bridge was done by CH2M Hill of Washington State.

The construction costs for the above work was approximately $12.5 million. The work was completed under two separate projects. The first project included the construction of the grade and the bridge. The Prime Contractor, which consisted of the Bridge Contractor, was Jensen Construction Company of Des Moines, Iowa. The Grading Subcontractor was Loiseau Construction of Flandreau, SD and the Bank Stabilization Subcontractor was Weatherton Construction of Beresford, SD. The second project was let to place the asphalt concrete on the new grade. The Prime Contractor for this project was Rohlin Construction of Esterville, Iowa.

Construction of the road began on May 9, 2000 while bridge construction began on June 19, 2000. Construction of the bridge was continuos until completion of the project, which included working through the very rough winter of 2000/2001. The completion date for the projects was November 1, 2001. The road and bridge were opened to traffic on this day.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation Yankton Area Office did the project management and the inspection of the project.

Click on photo for a larger view.

Most of the work in the river was done off barges which were accessed and moved into place by tugboats.	View of ongoing work in the river utilizing equipment on barges being maneuvered into place by tugboats. In this photo, girders are being put into place by cranes.
View of the Contractor getting ready to span the last gap in the bridge between SD and Nebraska.	Much of the work above the water was done by workers performing tasks at dangerous heights above the ground and the water. Some of the heights reached 75' above the ground.
To complete the construction in a timely manner and due to differing weather conditions, work was completed at all times of the day and night. This is a photo of work being performed out on the river at night. Note: See the worker hanging onto the side of the rebar cage approximately 50' above the water.	View of finished structure looking from the West to the East from the Nebraska shore.
View of finished structure looking from the East to the West from the Nebraska shore.	Top view of the finished structure looking from SD to Nebraska.