Mississippi River Bridges of St Louis

During our July 2014 visit to the St. Louis area, we crossed the Mississippi River on several occasions.  Eleven bridges cross the Mississippi River in the St. Louis area.  From north to south they are Clark Bridge, New Chain of Rocks Bridge, Chain of Rocks Bridge, Merchants Bridge, McKinley Bridge, Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, Martin Luther King Bridge, Eads Bridge, Poplar Street Bridge, MacArthur Bridge and Jefferson Barracks Bridge.  Although we crossed many of them, I only have pictures of five highway, one pedestrian, one railroad and one combination rail and road bridge.

Clark Bridge

This cable-stayed four-lane highway bridge opened in 1994.  It is north of St. Louis at Alton, IL and marked as US 67.  The bridge is named after William Clark who began his Corps of Discovery trip to the west coast from nearby.

View from downstream on the Missouri side

Crossing into Illinois

Barge traffic moving up river under the bridge as viewed from the bike trail on the Illinois side

View from upstream on the Illinois side

View from just upstream on the Missouri side

Chain of Rocks & New Chain of Rocks Bridges

The Chain of Rocks Bridge was built in 1929 as a toll bridge.  It is a multiple-span through-truss structure with a 22 degree bend near the middle.  The bridge owner wanted to build the bridge diagonally across the river, but the US Corps of Engineers required that the bridge be built perpendicular to the river channel.  The bridge is now part of a regional pedestrian and bicycle trail.

The New Chain of Rocks Bridge is a pair of low-level deck girder structures that opened in 1966.  It is currently signed for Interstate 270.  The US Corps of Engineers built a bypass canal around Chain of Rocks that opened in the early 1950s, as the river was not navigable during low water seasons so the new bridge did not need the high clearance of the old span.

New Chain of Rocks and Chain of Rocks bridges with downtown St. Louis on the horizon

Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge

This is also a cable-stayed four-lane highway bridge.  Opened in 2014, it carries Interstate 70 across the river within site of the Gateway Arch north of downtown St. Louis.  It was named for the Stan Musial, the former St. Louis Cardinals baseball player, and in memory of all veterans.

Eastbound toward Illinois

Approaching the state line in mid-span

Eastern tower with cables attachments

View from St. Louis toward Illinois

Martin Luther King Bridge

Built in 1951 as a four-lane highway bridge with a toll, this cantilever through-truss design now has two westbound lanes separated from one eastbound lane by a concrete barrier to eliminate numerous head-on collisions.  The bridge carries traffic from Interstates 55 and 64 in East St. Louis to downtown St. Louis near Laclede's Landing north of the Gateway Arch.  Originally the Veterans' Memorial Bridge, it was renamed in 1968 after Martin Luther King, Jr.

View from upstream with Eads Bridge in the background

View from under the bridge showing the intricate steel connections required

Another view from farther upstream with the Eads Bridge in the background

Eads Bridge

Opened in 1874, this arch bridge is still in use as a combination road and railroad crossing of the Mississippi River.  This first bridge to span the river in the St. Louis area also was the first to use steel as its primary structural material.  The bridge was one of the first to use pneumatic caissons to create the foundations for the piers and the first built exclusively using cantilever support methods with no temporary supports to impede river traffic.  The bridge roadway connects to city streets in both St. Louis and East St. Louis.  Since 1993, the railroad tracks are used exclusively by the MetroLink light rail system.  The iconic bridge is named for its designer, James Eads.

View from the Gateway Arch waterfront

MetroLink train crossing the bridge

View from Laclede Landing toward Illinois

Eads Bridge and Martin Luther King Bridge from the Gateway Arch

Another view of the bridge from near the Gateway Arch

Poplar Street & MacArthur Bridges

The Poplar Street Bridge, officially the Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge, is a deck girder bridge that opened in 1967.  The bridge is signed for Interstates 55 and 64 as well as US 40.

The MacArthur Bridge was built as a combination railroad and highway bridge.  Construction on the through-truss bridge started in 1909 with the roadway opened in 1917.  Rail traffic began in 1928.  The highway bridge once carried  US 66 on its route from Chicago to Los Angeles.  The highway bridge was closed in 1981 with the deck removed by 2014.  Originally the St. Louis Municipal Bridge, the structure was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur in 1942.

Barge traffic passes under the Poplar Street Bridge with the MacArthur Bridge in the background

The Poplar Street and MacArthur bridges from the grounds of the Gateway Arch

Currently, there are no tolls on any of the Mississippi River highway bridges in the area.