Keloland: Voices from the groundbreaking: Platte-Winner Bridge

https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/voices-from-the-groundbreaking-platte-winner-bridge/

PLATTE, S.D. (KELO) — The prairie’s green hills give way to the blue Missouri River in South Dakota’s center: a scenic spot for memories to take root.

“We would pile in the boat on the east side of the river and meet the Winner people that would come to a bay on the west side of the river and have a picnic for the afternoon,” Jean Sybesma of Platte said Thursday.

Sybesma, Wayne Springer of the Gregory area and many, many others have a connection with the current Platte-Winner Bridge, and this link might date back to the bridge’s early days.

“Just a little bit built, and we walked out to the, about to the very end of it and looked across the open water, and I remember that real well,” Springer said Thursday.

“My brother worked on the bridge for three summers while he was in college,” Sybesma said.

Ground is now broken on a replacement for the bridge, South Dakota’s longest, and the newer version will before too long cross the Missouri River in the south-central part of the state. Different state and federal leaders gathered Thursday on the eastern shore of the Missouri for the groundbreaking. Joel Jundt, South Dakota’s secretary of transportation, says the goal is for the new bridge to open in 2030.

“For over 60 years, this bridge has done exactly what it was supposed to do: serving the public,” Jundt said during his remarks at the groundbreaking. “It’s been a vital part of the South Dakota since 1966. It has carried families, it has carried farmers and ranchers, truck drivers who are moving freight. It has served the businesses and their customers as well as all the travelers who explore this great state of South Dakota.”

The current bridge is now in the twilight of its life. Sean McMaster, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, was on hand for the groundbreaking.

“This bridge is going to replace the existing bridge, adding shoulders that are going to bring the total width of the new bridge to 36 feet, compared to just 28 feet on the bridge you have right now today,” McMaster said from the event’s podium. “The existing bridge is going to carry traffic during construction. It’s not going to be removed ’til after the new bridge is complete, which will be 2030, which is pretty aggressive and amazing time frame, so congratulations to South Dakota.”

All three members of South Dakota’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. were at the event, too: a sunny celebration of the state’s infrastructure.

“I’m just delighted to be able to be here and to say thank you to all who make this possible,” Republican Sen. John Thune said from the podium.

“This is where east meets west,” Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson said in his remarks. “This is where we connect our fine state. What a wonderful project and what a great day to celebrate.”

Jundt says the project’s total cost is $315 million. Of this, he says about 80% is federal money and around 20% is state money.