Trenton man to retire after 46 years of building bridges

MT. PLEASANT - After 46 years on the job, Randy Messer’s doing his last bridge. This job, the replacement of a highway bridge west of Mt. Pleasant on 235th St./Business 34 holds some significance to him. It was on this very bridge that he saved a woman’s life.

In 1976, Messer was on the way to high school when he came across a car wreck. A pickup, hauling junk to the dump, had crashed on the bridge. A woman, following in her car, had been injured by flying debris. The first one on the scene, Messer wrapped his brand-new hoodie around the woman’s neck, slowing the bleeding until paramedics arrived. He was later commended for his action. He received a brand-new hoodie for his trouble.

Now, he is replacing this same bridge. Having begun in November, Iowa Bridge & Culvert of Washington expects the work to be done in late summer of 2026. This will be his last job. After this, he plans to retire. He didn’t initially want to. The work was too satisfying.

“There’s a pride to being able to drive along and say, ‘I built that,’” Messer said with a smirk.

But, with three sons and seven grandkids, he wants to dedicate more time to them.

In the summer of 1980, Messer joined a bridge crew, on what was then Goverson-Smith Construction. He was a general laborer, working with hand shovels and jackhammers. He later took this trade to Iowa Bridge & Culvert. In 1992, after watching his coworkers closely and attending Crane School, he became a crane operator.

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Two of Messer’s sons work at Iowa Bridge & Culvert, albeit on a different crew, though they have worked together before.

Things have changed since 1980. The old friction cranes, more physically strenuous to operate, have been supplanted on some jobs by newer hydraulic machines. Still, Messer confessed, “There’s nothing like running an old 5299.” The American Crane 5299, one of the old friction machines dating from the 1970’s, is still employed by Iowa Bridge. Working its braking system, according to Messer, could give an operator quite the workout.

Furthermore, it is easier to keep a job.

"[In days past,] if you couldn't prove you could work the first day, there wasn't a second day,” Messer said. “Nowadays, employers are more forgiving.”

And he doesn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.

Call Marilyn Higgins at 319-368-8895 or email her at marilyn.higgins@southeastiowaunion.com