By using a self-propelled barge, a St. Louis company was able to overcome some challenging tasks when performing work for this new bridge.

Recommendations for the proposed alignment of the new bridge were made in 1999. The selected alignment places the new bridge north of the existing Martin Luther King Bridge and south of the existing McKinley Bridge. The Illinois and Missouri Departments of Transportation (IDOT and MODOT, respectively) separated the bridge, approach ramps and highway relocations into seven individual projects, excluding the land-based approach ramps on the Missouri side of the river. Geotechnology Inc., St. Louis, was selected to provide drilling services on six of the seven projects and laboratory testing and engineering services on three of the projects.