Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Photographers scope out the scene from the existing Amelia Earhart Bridge during a media tour to see the construction site for the new bridge in Atchison, Kan., Thursday morning.

WINTHROP, Mo. — The early signs of a new Missouri River bridge already begin to stand in contrast to the aged span it will replace in two years.

Kansas Department of Transportation and Missouri Department of Transportation officials detailed plans for the new Amelia Earhart Memorial Bridge Thursday morning — with the din of busy construction equipment echoing in the background.

Work began earlier in the month to begin placement of pier footings on the Missouri side of the structure. The U.S. Highway 59 bridge will be built about 78 feet south of the existing span. A formal groundbreaking ceremony is set for July 2.

The $59 million project is tentatively scheduled to finish in the fall of 2011, said Kris Norton, KDOT road design leader. Kansas — which has primary maintenance responsibility — will provide $30.6 million of the cost, while Missouri’s share is $28.8 million, Mr. Norton said. The total project award was less than the $63.2 million estimated by planners.

The tied-arch bridge will feature 16 pre-stressed concrete girder spans that will carry a 70-foot-wide bridge deck. The existing bridge has a two-lane, 24-foot-wide roadway.

Acknowledging the collapse of the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis nearly two years ago, Mr. Norton said the bridge’s tied-arch design will include inclining rather than vertical hangers for better safety.

“This will provide a lighter, stiffer span” that can better resist accidental damage, he said.

The 527-foot main span’s metal will be tan, Mr. Norton said, with the bridge deck resting about 57 feet above the river. The tied arch will be 90 feet higher. The entire project extends from just east of the Fifth Street viaduct on Highway 59 in Atchison to the Morrow Road intersection in Winthrop.

Aesthetic LED lighting and roadway lighting will help complement the design. Sixteen bridge piers will be built first, followed by girder installation and other work into 2010 and 2011. The old bridge is scheduled to be removed sometime in late 2011 or early 2012.

Planning for the replacement bridge has sped up in recent years because of the current span, which was built in 1938. A six-year study developed the final choice of a design.

Costly ongoing maintenance — including the latest repairs completed Thursday — is necessary because the current bridge has rust deterioration.

“The old bridge is very narrow,” Mr. Norton said. “It’s in poor condition.”

Archer Western Contractors of Chicago is building the bridge, which was designed by MACTEC Engineering and HNTB, both of St. Louis.

“Traffic impacts will be minimal for the majority of construction on the project,” Mr. Norton said. The existing bridge will continue to be regularly maintained and inspected throughout the construction.

Wes Moore, transportation project manager for MoDOT’s District One office in St. Joseph, admitted that the bridge has had to be closed several times for maintenance.

“It’s going to be a lot more convenient for people,” he said of the new span.

A high-resolution Web camera will be installed in late July near the site to provide color snapshots of the construction. The image, refreshed every 15 minutes, will be available at www.ktoc.net.

MoDOT spokeswoman Elaine Justus said the Money Tree, the last of several Winthrop properties located within the bridge’s right of way, will be vacated by July 1.

“We’re willing to work with them on that,” Ms. Justus said.

Four buildings owned by Bradken in Atchison will also be demolished for the project.

Ray Scherer can be reached

at rscherer@npgco.com.