Ames to Build $290M Longest Bridge in South Dakota, Opening in 2030

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The South Dakota Transportation Commission has selected Ames Construction to replace the state's longest bridge—the State Highway 44 Bridge, also known as the Platte-Winner Bridge, located in the southeastern part of the state. The company, headquartered in Burnsville, Minnesota, is tasked with a design-bid-build package totaling $290 million, which also includes replacing a smaller bridge in Douglas County, southeastern South Dakota.

In terms of bid pricing, Ames' bid for the Platte-Winner Bridge came in $40 million higher than the state's estimate. South Dakota Department of Transportation officials stated that this project will be the largest undertaking the department has ever led. The company's bid for the smaller bridge was $652,000, approximately $64,500 lower than the state's estimate.

The new Platte-Winner Bridge, spanning the Missouri River, is planned as a steel girder bridge supported by drilled shafts. The total bridge length will be approximately 5,770 feet, with the width increasing from 28 feet to 36 feet.

The existing bridge, opened to traffic in 1966, is 5,655 feet long. According to the state, the current bridge has experienced multiple landslides due to existing alignment issues, incurring millions of dollars in repair and mitigation costs, and the bridge has reached the end of its service life.

The new bridge is expected to open to traffic in June 2030, with demolition of the existing bridge scheduled for November 2031.

Other bidders for the package included Lunda Construction Co. with a bid of $306 million; Kraemer North America with a bid of $313 million; and Platte-Winner Constructors with a bid of $451 million.

"Due to the scale and complexity of the project, current building material and labor market conditions, and the remote rural location of the project, bid prices are likely to come in higher than the engineer's estimate," said Julie Stevenson, a department spokesperson, in an email.