SIKESTON -- A contract to sandblast and repaint the Mississippi River bridge at Chester, Ill., may be let later this year, a Missouri Highway and Transportation Department official said.

The official, Freeman McCullah, district 10 highway engineer at Sikeston, said the $2 million project, scheduled to start last spring, was delayed after state and federal environmental agencies said the bridge had to be enclosed in cloth so that toxic lead-paint chips and particles blasted from the span would not fall into the river.

"We were halfway through sandblasting and repainting the old Highway 40-61 Daniel Boone bridge over the Missouri River west of Chesterfield when the EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources issued their ruling," said McCullah. "We had to enclose the unpainted half of the bridge so we could finish the work. We wound up paying the contractor about a quarter-million dollars more because of the extra work."

McCullah said tests showed the amount of lead particles in sandblasted material on the Chester bridge exceeded acceptable EPA and DNR levels. McCullah said the ruling forced the highway department to delay work on the Chester bridge.

"If we had enclosed the bridge as required by the EPA and the DNR, the total cost of the project would have been $5 million to $6 million," said McCullah. "We had no choice but to hold off."

McCullah said he is optimistic the problem soon will be resolved, perhaps this year.

"Right now we're looking at a couple of options that involve totally new technology," he said. "We're conducting paint tests on a smaller bridge in the Kansas City area with a type of aluminum epoxy paint. This paint would allow us to scrape off very loose material. No sandblasting would be required. The new type of paint would go over the lead-type paint."

McCullah said the experimental paint is non-toxic to animal life, and, unless the agencies change the rules, the lead paint could then be sandblasted into the river when its time to repaint.

He said the paint is expensive, and at least one type of paint would require two coats.

"We're also looking at a new type of sandblasting equipment that sucks the sandblasted material into a container," he said. "It's kind of a sandblaster with a vacuum cleaner."

"With the amount of money it will cost to sandblast and paint the Chester bridge under the current situation, it will be so expensive that other means have to be found to paint the bridge," he said.

McCullah said he expects to hear more on the paint and sandblasting technology this year. "If at all possible, we hope to be able to let the contract sometime this year," he said.

"On the other hand, if we are unable to award a contract this year, we will go ahead and remove the old toll house on the Illinois side of the river. There is a lot of concern that the toll house be removed for safety reasons, and to help traffic move more smoothly."

Until the bridge is repainted, McCullah said the highway department will continue to regularly inspect the span.

"Right now the Chester bridge, structurally, is in good shape," he said. "However, the continuing deterioration of the steel superstructure due to rust that's caused by a lack of new paint will eventually affect the structural integrity of the bridge."

McCullah said the problem is the more rust that accumulates on the bridge, the more difficult for inspectors to determine how much is rust and how much is steel.

"We can still inspect the bridge on a regular basis and make sure there is nothing critical that could cause it to collapse, but the only way to resolve the problem is to repaint the bridge," he said.

The Chester bridge has spanned the Mississippi since August 1942. It links Illinois Route 150 with Missouri Route 51.

It was a toll bridge operated by the Chester until Jan. 1, 1989, when all tolls were lifted. Missouri has an agreement with Illinois to maintain the bridge.