Nucor Skyline Rolled and Welded Pipe Piles Used in Meramec River Bridge Project

HISTORY

The Meramec River is one of the longest free- flowing waterways in the state of Missouri, covering about 218 miles from the Meramec Spring near Salem to where it empties into the Mississippi River near St. Louis. The river is used commercially by tour boats and sand and gravel mining barges, as well as canoe outfitters and ferry boat excursions. The Meramec Spring, where the river begins, was declared a National Natural Landmark in October 1971, and the ruins of a historic iron works, which took advantage of the available hydropower, still sit at the spring.

PROBLEM

As a free-flowing river with no flood control dams, the Meramec River is often subject to flooding. Major floods in both December 2015 and May 2017 caused damage and shut down roadways. In addition, Karst conditions can be found throughout the region, causing sinkholes and caves under the river.

The I-44/I-270 interchanges along the Meramec River in Missouri were built in a time when traffic volumes and automobile speeds were significantly less than they are today. Many of the bridges along the I-44 corridor were built more than 50 years ago and are in need of rehabilitation or rebuilding.

SOLUTION

The project to replace both the eastbound and westbound I-44 Meramec River Bridge will be broken into several phases, with Phase I currently in progress. Phase I, which began in July 2018, consists of a new westbound bridge built between the existing east and west bridges that are now in use.