IA 2 Bridges Over Missouri Overflow

When historic flooding closed IA 2 at the Missouri River bridge near Nebraska City, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds unexpectedly put forth a challenge to have the route repaired and reopened to traffic in less than one year. The Iowa DOT accepted the challenge with Stanley Consultants serving as design engineer and engineer of record for the accelerated bridge design. Early in the design phase the project team identified a need to significantly accelerate both design and construction to meet the critical schedule requirement assigned to the project. A new 1,100- by 40-feet dual bridge was designed in just nine weeks and the first bridge was constructed and open to traffic less than six months after contract letting and over two months ahead of schedule.