The contractor on the new Highway 47 Missouri River bridge is taking extra measures to stay on schedule with the major project, a MoDOT official said.Alberici Constructors Inc., the general contractor, continues to work as much as needed, including longer days and possibly some Saturdays, to keep on schedule, Judy Wagner, MoDOT area engineer for Franklin County, said.As of Dec. 15, the project was 6 percent completed, in terms of the dollar amount, Wagner said.Currently, all the work is focused on the north end of the bridge, on the Warren County side of the river.“The contractor continues to work on the northern land bents,” Wagner explained.Bents are the bridge foundations that are constructed on land, versus piers which will be constructed in the river.The contractor is starting work on the end bent, or the northern bridge abutment, Wagner said.“They are driving the mooring piles — the anchor system for barges — for the first northern pier in the river,” she said. Drilling work on the shafts for that pier will begin soon. Barrier WallWorkers recently installed a barrier wall along Highway 47, north of the existing bridge. That has resulted in narrow lanes, “so motorists should slow down through the work zone area,” Wagner noted.“Overall, the bridge is coming along nicely,” she remarked. The shaft, or vent, for each pier will be drilled to a depth of between 30 and 50 feet to reach bedrock below the river, Wagner said.Alberici crews began work in mid-August after the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded the contract on the $63 million project.The new 2,560-foot-long bridge is being built just to the west ­— upstream ­— from the existing span, which was completed in 1936. The new structure is designed with two 12-foot-wide driving lanes, two 10-foot-wide shoulders and a 10-foot-wide biking/walking path along the west side. An overlook, where walkers and bikers can stop and view the river and cityscape, is proposed at the center bridge pier.The new bridge path will connect to a biking/walking path along Highway 47, north of the river, which ties into the state’s Katy Trail, one of the longest continuous biking/walking trails in the United States.The new bridge, designed by HDR, Inc., will have a 100-year life with limited maintenance and a variety of unique enhancements, including variable depth, haunched steel girders and fluted bridge piers with architectural reveals.The new bridge, if completed on schedule, will be opened to traffic by November 2018.Demolition of the old bridge and finishing touches on the project will be completed in 2019.Highway 47 Bridge