Chester Bridge

For the Roman bridge in England, see Chesters Bridge.

The Chester Bridge is a bridge connecting Missouri's Route 51 with Illinois Route 150 across the Mississippi River between Perryville, Missouri and Chester, Illinois. It is the only motor-traffic bridge spanning the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri.^[1]

Chester Bridge
Coordinates	37°54′11″N 89°50′11″W
Carries	2 lanes of Route 51/ IL 150
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Perryville, Missouri and Chester, Illinois
Maintained by	Missouri Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Continuous truss bridge
Total length	2,826 feet (861 m)
Width	22 feet (7 m)
Longest span	670 feet (204 m)
Clearance below	104 feet (32 m)
History
Opened	August 23, 1942
Location

The bridge at sunset.

History

The Chester Bridge is a two-lane traffic bridge. Construction began in 1941 and was finished in 1942 at a cost of $1.385 million (1942 dollars). The bridge was destroyed by a severe thunderstorm on July 29, 1944, and reconstructed 2 years later. The bridge serves about 6,400 vehicles per day.^[2]

Inspections in 2020 showed the bridge to be in poor condition.^[3][4][5] The Missouri Department of Transportation plans to replace the bridge by 2028.^[4][5]