Cape Girardeau Bridge
Photos
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Overview from Missouri side Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Old and new from Missouri side Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Old and new from Riverfront Park Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Old and new from Illinois Photo taken by James Baughn |
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East approach spans Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Main spans from southeast Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Main spans from southwest Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Main spans from northwest Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Navigation lights at dusk Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Six approach spans Photo taken by James Baughn |
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First span from east Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Close-up of first span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Second span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Oblique view of second through sixth spans Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pier between second and third span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Third span from below Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Fourth span from below Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Fifth span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Sixth span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Underneath the first span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Underneath Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Missing girders underneath Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Looking straight up at a pier Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Missing beam Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Daylight visible through deck Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Under the lower chord Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Along lower chord Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Top of lower chord Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Abutment joint from outside Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Joint from side Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Joint from inside Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Graffiti at the abutment Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Backhoe on main span Workers began to remove the asphalt deck from the main span [June 23, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Backhoe at west portal The centerline on the Missouri approach is only a few days from being removed [June 24, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Front end loader on Missouri side The layer of asphalt has been removed, revealing the original concrete base [July 1, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Scrap metal at Illinois side A pile of scrap metal, presumably the curbing along the edge of the bridge deck, sits in preparation to be carted off [July 17, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Work site on Illinois side Workers use the old road on the Illinois side to store their equipment [July 17, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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West portal work The guardrails at the west portal has become dislodged, and the builder's plaque mounted on the portal beam has been removed [July 19, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Danger: Falling Material Yellow tape warns of falling material underneath one of the soon-to-be-implosed spans [July 31, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Missing deck from approach There's something missing from this span... [July 31, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Backhoe removing deck A backhoe is perched on the bridge as the concrete deck is removed [July 31, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Crane at west end Workers move a crane into position on the Missouri side [August 2, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Hauling scrap away A truckload of scrap from the Missouri side of the bridge makes a break for the highway [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pile of scrap from deck A pile of sections from the deck stands next to the Missouri approach, waiting for transport [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 1: Before It's 12:11 AM and the tension builds in anticipation of the first pyrotechnics show [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 1: During At 12:14 AM, in less than a second, four spans come crashing down in a loud boom [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 1: After By 12:16 AM it's all over, and suddenly the skyline of East Cape looks much different [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pier obliterated The pier between the first and second Illinois spans is totally obliterated in the blast [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Height difference The difference between the imploded and non-imploded spans is striking [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Fourth span warped The fourth span from the east came down the hardest in the implosion and is visible warped, but still whole [August 3, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Workers on deck A crew of workers head toward the main span, while a forklift drags out pieces of the deck [August 5, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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More deck removed Daylight can be seen through the eastern half of the main spans. Within a few days the entire deck surface will be gone, leaving nothing but a skeleton [August 5, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Deck entirely removed The deck has been removed from the plate girder spans over Aquasmi Street [August 13, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 2: Preparations From a barge, workers prepare the explosives for the second demolition phase [August 25, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 2: Before Tension mounts as the next span is about to go boom [August 26, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 2: After Behind schedule, the blast finally occurs just after 7:00 AM, leaving another empty spot in its wake [August 26, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 2: Clean-up By noon, workers cut up the trusses and remove the wreckage from the river [August 26, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Cutting torch on main span A worker sitting on the main span's lower chord sends sparks flying with a cutting torch [August 31, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Preparing the main spans A barge backs up to the bridge as workers prepare the main spans for the coming pyrotechnics show [August 31, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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No fear of heights A worker walks along the top of the bridge [September 7, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Strategic girder cuts In the days leading up to the third blast, workers cut strategic notches in the girders. When the explosives go off, the superstructure will split into many smaller pieces, making it easier to quickly retrieve them from the river floor. [September 8, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Day before The main span on the Missouri side, with the deck totally removed, is only hours away from history. [September 8, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Before All eyes are on the westernmost span just before detonation... [September 9, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: After ...Which goes according to plan... Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Oops! ...But in the process also wipes out the other two remaining spans. This wasn't quite what the demolition contractor had in mind. Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Barges move into position Barges quickly move into position to begin the task of clearing debris from the navigation channel Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Debris in main channel The debris left in the main channel was extensive, but the demolition crews were at least prepared for this Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Close-up of second span The second span collapsed in the middle, barely a split second after detonation of the first span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Close-up of damaged pier As the second span collapsed, it kicked over much of Pier 2, and yet somehow the end of the span still came to rest on the remnants of the pier Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Close-up of third span One end of the third span was subsequently pushed off its pier, dropping it into the river in one piece Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Lifting pieces from river A crane mounted on a barge lifts a piece from the bottom of the river [September 9, 2004, around 12:30 PM] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Hauling pieces to shore Once lifted, the barge transports the piece to the Illinois shore Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Overview of mess from new bridge Many people who watched the blast from the riverfront headed to the new bridge to survey the mess from there. And what a mess it was! Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: View from Aquamsi Street at sunset At sunset, the whole scene is still a mess. [September 9, 2004, around 6:30 PM] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: River still closed Barge traffic backs up on both sides because of the unexpected delay [September 9, 2004, about 7:00 PM] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: Day after Work to clean up the river's main channel takes longer than expected, far surpassing the demolition company's original 24-hour deadline [September 9, 2004, around 6:15 PM] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Arch to nowhere The view from Morgan Oak Street looks much different now [September 10, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 3: River reopened After struggling to remove the wreckage from the main channel, barge traffic resumes Saturday afternoon [September 11, 2004, about 6:30 PM] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 4: Preparations With the help of a crane, workers plant explosives on the mangled Span 3 as they get ready to blast it into more manageable pieces [September 22, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 4: Before The demolition crew is minutes away from pushing the button on another blast [September 23, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 4: After The span is blown apart in a surprisingly loud blast Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 4: The aftermath Barges and workers quickly move into position to start pulling pieces from the wreckage out of the water Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 4: Stub of remaining pier The fourth blast took out most of the pier above the water line [September 29, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Scrap on Illinois shore Even at this point, the worksite on the Illinois side is still a mess [September 29, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pulling wreckage from Missouri shore A crane carries one of the last remaining pieces that landed on the Missouri shore during Phase 3 [September 28, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 5: Preparations A bucket lifts a worker into position over the mangled wreckage to plant dynamite [September 28, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 5: Before Another day, another sunrise pyrotechnics show on the Riverfront [September 29, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 5: After Unlike previous blasts, this one was on time. But it didn't quite finish the job -- a portion of the span continued to lean against the pier [September 29, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 5: The aftermath The mess left after the blast is seen from the new bridge [September 29, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 5(b): Second blast Not all of the explosives detonated during the morning blast, so workers performed another blast at 12:50 PM. There's no point in showing before and after pictures; the wreckage didn't move much [September 29, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Phase 5: Cleanup The last pieces of wreckage from Span 2 are lifted from the river [October 5, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Drilling on Pier 3 Working from the top of the pier, the construction crew drills holes in the concrete to make room for the explosives [October 25, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pier 1 standing alone With the approach partially removed, the pier on the Missouri shore now stands alone [November 1, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Approach hanging in mid-mid The approach is still standing, despite one end hanging precariously in mid-air [November 1, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Approach section removed One chunk of the deck plate girder from the Missouri approach has been removed, leaving the rest cantilevered in place [November 1, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Deck girder spans removed The rest of the deck plate girder spans are removed and lifted into a trailer [November 9, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Another view of concrete wreckage The whole mess appears rather unstable [November 26, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Concrete approach destroyed Three of the six concrete approach spans are decimated by a wrecking ball [November 26, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Only one span left All but one of the concrete approach spans is hauled away. What little remains standing will be preserved as part of a small memorial to the bridge [December 1, 2004] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Tearing apart Pier 1 A worker uses a jackhammer to tear about Pier 1. [January 4, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pier 1 flattened After a few days work, the pier is totally demolished. [January 7, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Expansion joint An expansion joint lies on the ground, awaiting cleanup. [January 25, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Remains of pier one The rubble from Pier 1 is crushed and spread around the site. [February 11, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Illinois approach removed By now the pavement on the Illinois side has been removed. [February 15, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Final blast: Before This is it, the final explosion to remove the center pier. [March 12, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Final blast: After The blast created a loud boom and a noxious cloud, but the scene didn't change much. Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Pier 2 cleanup A crane mounted on a barge is used to fish out the rubble from Pier 2. [March 15, 2005] Photo taken by James Baughn |
Map
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Timeline
Compiled by James Baughn
- June 1919
- H.L. Albert, President of the Commercial Club, persuades Smith Engineering Co. of St. Louis to send a representative to draw up plans for a new "wagon bridge" across the Mississippi River at Cape. Little seems to come of this, however.
- Sept. 10, 1924
- Item in the Southeast Missourian discusses possibility of equipping Thebes Bridge to also carry vehicular traffic
- Aug. 1925
- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce creates a bridge committee to study the possibility of erecting a new bridge at Cape
- Dec. 7, 1925
- Chamber hires Fred W. Adgate to draw up preliminary plans and a cost estimate for a new bridge
- Jan. 20, 1926
- Adgate reports to the Chamber that a bridge could be built for about $1.5 million
- May 4, 1926
- President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill approving the construction of a bridge at Cape
- August 20, 1926
- At a public meeting, the Chamber reveals plans for fund raising and the engineering firm of Harrington, Howard and Ash presented an overall bridge design and the results of a traffic survey
- Sept. 6, 1926
- Intense sales drive launched across the city to raise $300,000 in preferred stock for the bridge
- Sept. 10, 1926
- Bridge committee announces that nearly $400,000 had been raised, causing a spontaneous celebration to erupt across town
- Sept. 24, 1926
- Cape Girardeau Bridge Company formally incorporated
- Dec. 4, 1926
- Bidding opens for the bridge construction. American Bridge Co. won the bid for the superstructure and U.G.I. Contracting Co. won for the substructure. Both bids totalled about $1.2 million
- Jan. 18, 1927
- War Department issues permit for construction
- Feb. 5, 1927
- Construction begins on the first pier
- Mar. 18, 1927
- Pier 1 completed
- Mar. 21, 1927
- Rising river level reaches flood stage, halting construction of the piers in the river
- Apr. 20, 1927
- River finally crests at a level higher than any flood since 1844
- May 7, 1927
- Construction resumes as the river dropped below flood stage
- Oct. 3, 1927
- American Bridge Co. starts work on the superstructure
- Apr. 16, 1928
- U.G.I. Contracting Co. finishes work on the substructure with the completion of Pier 6
- June 1928
- Work on erecting the last steel truss span completed
- Jul. 5, 1928
- F. W. Keller starts work on paving Morgan Oak Street leading up to the bridge
- Jul. 7, 1928
- Dan Munro, subcontractor, starts laying the concrete floor
- Aug. 1, 1928
- Fed up with the foot dragging by Illinois to build an eastern connection with the bridge, the Cape Girardeau Bridge Co. commences work on building a temporary road to McClure
- Aug. 16, 1928
- Worker Charles Knight falls to his death from Span 8, the only fatality during bridge construction
- Aug. 22, 1928
- Concrete floor completed and later the asphalt surface was paved
- Sept. 3, 1928
- Bridge opens to the first traffic at 11:43 AM during a celebration attended by nearly 15,000 people. However, starting the next day, the bridge was closed to complete last-minute paving and painting
- Sept. 12, 1928
- Bridge permanently opens to traffic at 6 AM, with a toll of $1 per car and 10 cents per passenger
- Jun. 24, 1932
- Because of the Depression and because Illinois failed to build a decent connection to the bridge, toll revenue never met projections and the Cape Girardeau Bridge Co., unable to make payments, is forced to file for receivership
- Feb. 12, 1935
- US District Court issues order of foreclosure against the bridge company
- Apr. 8, 1935
- Bridge sold at public auction to Industrial Securities, Inc., of Toledo, Ohio
- Jun. 24, 1935
- Sale is finalized and management of the bridge is assigned to a subsidiary company, the Ozark Trails Bridge Co.
- Feb. 1938
- Cape Girardeau County attempted to buy the bridge by raising money through revenue bonds, but Frank Stranahan, owner of Industrial Securities, refused to sell and the plan collapsed
- Jun. 8, 1946
- Cape Girardeau Special Road District successfully purchases the bridge by issuing over $2.3 million in revenue bonds
- Aug. 24, 1955
- Engineers from the Missouri and Illinois highway departments inspect the bridge in anticipation of taking over maintenance from the Special Road District
- Jun. 1, 1957
- Special Road District retires the last revenue bond
- Jun. 29, 1957
- Last toll collected at 5:30 AM and maintenance responsibilities assumed by Missouri and Illinois
- 1963
- Bridge deck rehabilitated
- Dec. 13, 2003
- Last car rolls across old bridge when the replacement Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge officially opens
- June 21, 2004
- Workers begin the demolition process, first removing the asphalt deck
- Aug. 3, 2004
- First four Illinois approach spans are blasted just after noon
- Aug. 26, 2004
- Next approach span blasted around 7 AM
- Sept. 9, 2004
- The third demolition phase, intended to blast only the span over the main channel, also causes the other two remaining truss spans to collapse in a domino effect.
Facts
- Overview
- Lost continuous through truss bridge over the Mississippi River on MO 34/IL 146 at Cape Girardeau
- Location
- Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, and Alexander County, Illinois
- Status
- Replaced by Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and closed to all traffic on December 13, 2003; main spans demolished on September 9, 2004
- History
- Opened to traffic Sept. 3, 1928; replaced 2003
- Builders
- - American Bridge Co. of New York
- Harrington, Howard and Ash
- U.G.I. Contracting Co.
- Design
- From west to east:
Six concrete deck girder spans, each 30 ft. long
Two steel deck girder spans, for a combined length of approx. 185 ft.
Two 20-panel continuous, cantilevered Warren through truss spans, each 671.0 ft. long
Six Pennsylvania through truss spans, each approx. 311.7 ft. long
- Dimensions
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Length of largest span: 671.0 ft.
Total length: 4,744.3 ft.
Deck width: 20.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.2 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +37.29722, -89.51678 (decimal degrees)
37°17'50" N, 89°31'00" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/276921/4130815 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Cape Girardeau
- Inventory numbers
- MoDOT K-948R1 (Missouri Dept. of Transportation bridge number)
BH 21096 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Related Bridges
- Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge (Successor)
Sources
- HAER MO-84 - Cape Girardeau Bridge
- Wikipedia
Comments
The approach part left as a memorial is nicely done. Photos taken June 10, 2011.
Fascinating pictorial...That was a gorgeous bridge.
There's a video of the implosion here:
I have always gone under the bridge on the Illinois side to go 4 wheelin' and dirt bikin'. I have been known a time or two to get stuck down there. I have built bonfires and have tailgate parties with a few friends. I would have to say...most of memories of back home were under that bridge. I'm glad I was a part of it.
I remember crossing this when I was younger (probably in the mid 1990s). This bridge was a louder bridge to cross than most, and I looked out of the car to see why: large portions of the floor were metal grates, through which you could see the waters below.
After that, I never really cared to cross the bridge. At least the other ones I had crossed didn't have water visible directly underneath the car.
That old bridge was always scary to cross. Way too narrow. Even as a teenager, I was having a hard time keeping the car within the lane without driving off the side or hitting someone head on. Know a few people killed crossing the bridge. But, it was historical. Another piece of Cape Girardeau history sorry to see go. They could have kept it as a one-way bridge.
That was 1 old Bridge.
One early memory, as a kid,
was the thrill of going fast,
with a friend;"Doc", driving his
"souped-up" 71 El Cameno SS, from
the MO. side up to the first ramp
so as to actually go airbourn!
...At least for a few secounds.
ok,
He had to get a runup to it.
;)
Well, it was fun.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/mo/cape/old/