Merchants Bridge is nearing the end of a $222 million reconstruction project — and on Friday, some people got to take a boat to see it up close.
The bridge, which links Missouri and Illinois near downtown St. Louis, has been undergoing changes to make it more accessible. Used by trains, the bridge could previously only take one train going in one direction at a time —and it had to be going slowly.
With the new upgrades, trains will be able to pass each other on the bridge at the same time without having to significantly slow down.
The last piece of the puzzle is lifiting one more truss into place. It's an hours-long process that involves lifting a 9 million-pound truss into place.
Engineers said the conditions had to be right for that last truss to be put in place. If the river was too low, the ship carrying the truss could get weighed down too far and get stuck in the riverbed. But if the river was too high, the current would start moving too quickly.
They anticipate the truss will be lifted and the bridge completed in the next two to three days.
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