That portion of the bridge that carried the westbound lanes over the Canadian National Railway tracks has been completely dismantled, leaving behind open space with bare ground below.

Just a little bit to the west, the part of the westbound bridge that goes over the Des Moines River has been stripped down to its green steel skeleton.

Those bridges, which are two of the four spans that make up the Kenyon Road Bridge, will be replaced with new ones.

The project started in November and is expected to conclude this fall.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
The green steel skeleton of the westbound Kenyon Road Bridge that crosses the Des Moines River can be seen behind a crane and stacks of construction material. It will be demolished shortly as part of the replacement of both westbound sides of the bridge.

Jenny Hoskins, a resident construction engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation, said the project is essentially on schedule.

“We’ve had a nicer than normal winter,” she said.

“They’ve been doing quite a bit of demolition work,” she added.

With the bridge over the railroad tracks gone, crews are now beginning to pour the concrete footings for the piers, the tall vertical supports that will hold the new bridge up.

The bridge deck over the river has been removed and crews will soon start cutting the structural steel apart, according to Hoskins.

The components of that bridge have to be carefully lifted out to avoid having anything fall in the Des Moines River, she said.

“Obviously, the DNR doesn’t want things falling in the river,” Hoskins said, referring to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The westbound sides of the Kenyon Road Bridge were steel frame structures very similar to the Interstate 35 West bridge that collapsed in the Twin Cities of Minnesota in 2007.

United Contractors, of Johnston, has a $15.2 million contract from the state to dismantle and replace the westbound bridges.

The two spans that make up the eastbound side of the bridge are a different style and will not be replaced.