The steel skeleton of the bridge that will carry the westbound lanes over the Canadian National Railway tracks is in place, according to Jenny Hoskins, a resident construction engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation. She said that in late July, crews will begin putting down the concrete decking that vehicles will travel on.

In the Des Moines River, crews are preparing to build the vertical supports called piers that will hold up the next section of the bridge that will go over the water. Hoskins said coffer dams, which are metal circles that will hold back the water, will be put in place. The water will then be pumped out of the area within the coffer dams, creating a dry space where the piers will be built.

“It all seems on track to get done this fall,” Hoskins said.

The projected completion date for the massive bridge project has always been this fall, The work began in November 2023.

Hoskins said high water levels in the Des Moines River have not been a big impediment to the bridge job.

The eastbound side of the bridge has been converted to one lane of traffic in each direction while the construction project is underway.

What area residents know as the Kenyon Road Bridge is actually four separate structures – two on the westbound side and two on the eastbound side. On each side there is a span that goes over the railroad tracks and one that goes over the Des Moines River.

The two bridges on the westbound side were very similar to the Interstate 35 West Bridge that collapsed in the Twin Cities of Minnesota in 2007. The two spans on the eastbound side are of a different type and will not be replaced.

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