A two-day concrete pour began Friday night on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in Cape Girardeau, as concrete trucks began rolling across the old Mississippi River bridge with their loads.

A total of 3,800 cubic yards of concrete -- more than 500 truckloads from Delta Concrete and McDonald Co. -- will have been hauled to the site when work ends this afternoon.

A similar pour in summer 2001 on Pier 3 of the new bridge made history as the state's largest structural concrete pour. Today's work is on Pier 4.

Towboats transport the concrete on barges to the work site. It is poured underwater into a steel caisson's chambers, forcing the water out.

"This is another huge milestone for the bridge construction," said Scott Meyer, district engineer for District 10 of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The $100 million bridge is expected to be completed in a year, replacing the Mississippi River bridge built in 1927.