PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Named for a Fort Pierre war hero, the new $50 million version of the Lt. Cmdr. John C. Waldron Bridge over the Missouri River between Pierre and Fort Pierre is built to last for 100 years, officials said during a ribbon cutting on Tuesday,
But it’s also the last bridge for the company that built it, Jensen Construction, which has been around even longer — 112 years, to be exact.
So says Lynette Rasmussen, a board member for The Rasmussen Group, the company’s Des Moines, Iowa-based corporate parent.
Rasmussen told the state and local dignitaries, who included Gov. Larry Rhoden as well as the two communities’ mayors, that the project cost the company more than $60 million to build.
She praised the leaders of the work crews and described the day as “very bittersweet,” saying Jensen has been sold to another company.
“This is a tough game. This is very dangerous. Insurance companies don’t want to insure you,” she said. No one suffered a serious injury or lost a life during the construction, which Rasmussen said was remarkable in itself.
Jensen Construction has built four other bridges over the Missouri River in South Dakota, including at Chamberlain, Yankton and Vermillion. That’s more than any other contractor in the country has done over the Missouri.
“I’m bittersweet that it began in South Dakota and it’s now ending in South Dakota,” Rasmussen said. “We’re proud of our work and we’re proud of what we’ve left for South Dakota.”
She described the unpredictable difficulty of working underwater and drilling down until bedrock is found. The bridge took four years to complete.
“That process often is fraught with things that aren’t in the contract,” Rasmussen said. “We are sorry that it took so long. There are lots of reasons why it took so long.”
“This project would not be what it is today without our contractor,” state Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt said in introducing her. “They’ve done some great work here.”
The ceremony came one week after crews demolished the steel girder structure of the old bridge that stood just feet away from the new one. Gov. Rhoden spoke about how the new bridge brings together the East River and West River traditions of South Dakota. He said that’s why he chose Tony Venhuizen of Sioux Falls as his lieutenant governor.
“We need perspective from all sides of the state,” said Rhoden, a rancher from the western expanse of Meade County. “We need people from all walks of life to work together and make this state as great as it is, and we need bridges like this one connecting us to bring us together.”
Still standing next to the new highway bridge is the railroad bridge that opened in 1907.
Fort Pierre Mayor Gloria Hanson and Pierre Mayor Steve Harding said there will be plazas built at each side of the bridge, and it will have a sidewalk that is 12 feet wide so that bicyclists and pedestrians can pass each other as they cross it.
Mayor Hanson said Fort Pierre plans a small museum recognizing Lt. Cmdr. Waldron, who led an attack on the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Midway that was later credited as shortening World War II by several years. The mayor, who grew up in Fort Pierre, said Tuesday that she had never heard Waldron’s name mentioned when she was younger.
Daily traffic over the bridge averages 17,000 vehicles. The bridge was named in Waldron’s honor in 2002 by then-Gov. Bill Janklow. Mayor Hanson said soon there will be three sculptures on the Fort Pierre side: A native woman symbolizing water, a bison and, inside the museum, a facsimile of the aircraft carrier from which the Waldron-led squadron of torpedo bombers launched.
None of the planes returned.
“Their sacrifice paved the way for the American dive bombers to devastate the Japanese fleet,” Rhoden said, declaring that the bridge would remain dedicated to John C. Waldron. “In a lot of ways, the old bridge paved the way for this one, just as Lieutenant Commander Waldron paved the way for the dive bombers to follow him.”
Rhoden added, “Today we look forward to the next hundred years of South Dakotans from both sides of the state crossing this growth. Today we celebrate the continued growth and development that will be possible because of this modern bridge.”
