Historic Bridges of the U.S.

Timeline

Compiled by James Baughn

1839: Charles Ellet proposes building a suspension bridge across the Mississippi, but the project is rejected by the city as too expensive
1855: Josiah Dent of St. Louis receives permission to build a suspension railroad bridge, but cannot raise enough money
1856: John A. Roebling proposes a suspension bridge, but this venture is also unsuccessful
1866: Congress issues charter authorizing the St. Louis and Illinois Bridge Co. to build a bridge in downtown St. Louis, but with several restrictions intended to cripple the project
1867: Company selects James Eads as engineer-in-chief
Feb. 25, 1868: Cornerstone laid on top of bedrock for the west abutment
Mar. 5, 1868: The company buys out the rival Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Co., which unsuccessfully tried to sabotage the project
Feb. 28, 1870: East channel pier caisson reaches bedrock
Apr. 1, 1870: West pier reaches bedrock
Mar. 8, 1871: Tornado causes one death and $50,000 in damage
Apr. 30, 1871: East abutment caisson completed
Feb. 1870: Keystone Bridge Co. of Pittsburgh contracted to erect the steel arches
May 24, 1874: Upper roadway deck opened to pedestrians
June 9, 1874: First train crosses the rail deck
July 4, 1874: Bridge officially dedicated with a 15-mile long parade, inaugural train ride, speeches, and fireworks display
Apr. 14, 1875: Bridge company files for receivership because of delays in securing paying passenger train service
Dec. 20, 1878: Bridge sold at auction for $2.0 million
1881: Railroad magnate Jay Gould acquires the bridge and eventually the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis gains control
1974: Last Amtrak train crosses the bridge and the rails are later removed
Oct. 21, 1974: Designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
Aug. 31, 1989: St. Louis acquires the bridge in a trade with the Terminal Railroad Association for the MacArthur Bridge
1993: MetroLink light rail service across the lower deck of the bridge begins operation
July 4, 2003: Upper deck is officially opened to vehicular and pedestrian traffic

Facts

Overview: Three-span steel arch bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis
Status: Top deck open to four lanes of traffic with a pedestrian lane, bottom deck open to two tracks of MetroLink light rail service
History: Built 1869-1874 under the direction of engineer James Buchanan Eads
Design: Steel arch
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 533.0 ft.
Total length: 4,024.9 ft.
Deck width: 45.9 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966
Approximate latitude, longitude: +38.62882, -90.17860 (decimal degrees)
38°37'44" N, 90°10'43" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Inventory numbers: NRHP 66000946 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
MONBI 12992 (Missouri bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 22625 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 05/2005): Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Not deficient
Sufficiency rating: 80.4 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2005): 2,000

Update Log

February 26, 2007: Posted all new photos

Sources

HAER MO-12 - Eads Bridge
Wikipedia

Comments

Eads Bridge

Posted October 5, 2007, by darrell clendenin (dmclendenin [at] hotmail [dot] com)

I lived in Illinois and worked for wohl shoe co on washington ave and use to drive that bridge everyday was a dime toll as I recall. I loved that bridge and Mc A that came out at the dog food co checker board square i think. anyway just a note we all love the bridge

Eads Bridge

Posted August 12, 2007, by Anonymous

I was born and raised in St. Louis. My father, who is a history buff, told me all about the bridge many times throughout my childhood and its mystique stuck with me. After all these years I still never tire of seeing it. I took the image below at sunrise in August of 2005. Coincidentally, my childhood neighborhood in Crestwood was next to the old Eads mansion which was demolished when I-44 was constructed.

That this wonderful structure is in use again after many years of neglect is one of the great success stories in historic bridge renovation. The lower train deck has been refurbished for use by the Metrolink light rail service and the upper road deck carries vehicular traffic.

Fans of the bridge should be aware of the book "The Eads Bridge". Originally published in 1979, it was out of print for many years until 1999 when a 2nd edition was published by the Missouri Historical Society Press. There is a remarkable, extensive black and white photographic essay and a companion history about the construction of the bridge. It's a wonderful publication.

Eads Bridge

Posted December 19, 2006, by Terry Glass (tglass_13 [at] charter [dot] net)

I really miss the blue lights that used to shine acrossed the bridge. I wish someone could start a fund raiser to light it up again. It is a beautiful piece of St. Louis History and deserves the same lighting and respect as the Old Courthouse, Cathedral and the arch.

Light the bridge

Eads Bridge

Posted November 22, 2006, by meredith (meredithz13 [at] hotmail [dot] com)

My grandfather helped construct this bridge. He was one of the civil engineers that worked on it. I am proud of his work!

Eads Bridge

Posted June 26, 2006, by Donald Sowder (dsowder [at] oncliq [dot] net)

I have been a fan of old and/or unusual bridges for most of my 74 years. I appreciate the fine pictures and the information found at this website. Mr.Eads went on to contribute many engineering innovations on the Mississippi River.

Eads Bridge

Posted September 14, 2005, by george (gharaka [at] yahoo [dot] com)

I am reading a book " Rising Tides" which describes the building of this bridge and all the people involved.

I thank you for having so much good information on this site about this and other brdges

Eads Bridge

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