The Platte-Winner bridge over the Missouri River is planned as a steel girder bridge supported on drilled shafts. It is set to be about 5,770 ft long and widened from 28 to 36 ft.

The existing bridge opened in 1966 and is 5,655 ft long. Because of its current alignment, it has been subject to numerous landslides, resulting in millions of dollars in repair and mitigation expenses, according to the state which reports it has reached the end of its useful life. 

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

Other bids for the package included a $306-million bid from Lunda Construction Co., a $313-million bid from Kraemer North America and a $451-million bid from Platte-Winner Constructors.

“The bids likely came in higher than the engineer's estimate due to the size and complexity of the project, current construction-market conditions for both materials and labor, and the project's remote, rural location,” said Julie Stevenson, spokesperson for the transportation dept., in an email.