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Martin Luther King Bridge (St. Louis)
Encyclopedia
The Martin Luther King Bridge (formerly known as the Veterans Bridge) in St. Louis
is a cantilever truss bridge
of about 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) in total length across the Mississippi River
, connecting St. Louis with East St. Louis, Illinois
. The bridge serves as traffic relief connecting the concurrent
freeways of Interstate 55, Interstate 70, Interstate 64, and U.S. Route 40 with the downtown streets of St. Louis.
to the south and was built as a toll bridge and was owned by the City of East St. Louis. At one time, it carried U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 66 across the river. In 1967, the bridge fell into disrepair when the (free) Poplar Street Bridge
was constructed, and traffic began to use that route, leading to declining toll revenues.
Eventually, ownership was transferred dually to the Missouri
and Illinois
Departments of Transportation and the bridge was renamed after Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1987, the toll was removed. A bi-state project for about 24,000,000 USD to renovate the bridge at the behest of local civic and government leaders was carried out in the late 1980s. In the spring of 1989, the rebuilt bridge was reopened. In June 1990, the lighting of the bridge was completed by the St. Louis Port Authority. It is now an important contributor to the transportation needs of the region and the ambiance of the historic St. Louis riverfront.
On October 12, 2009 the bridge was closed in order to reduce the old four-lane configuration down to three wider lanes, install a waterproofing membrane over the bridge surface http://www.fox2now.com/ktvi-martin-luther-king-bridge-reopen-102009,0,253123.story, and to install a concrete barrier to separate eastbound traffic from westbound. Over the previous six years there had been 38 serious accidents, including several involving multiple fatalities.http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/along-for-the-ride/along-for-the-ride/2009/10/king-bridge-closure-on-schedule/ The $1.4 million project was aimed at eliminating these head-on collisions in the future. The bridge re-opened on October 21, 2009.
half of the bridge is designated as unsigned Route 799 by MoDOT
.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
is a cantilever truss bridge
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
of about 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) in total length across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, connecting St. Louis with East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...
. The bridge serves as traffic relief connecting the concurrent
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
freeways of Interstate 55, Interstate 70, Interstate 64, and U.S. Route 40 with the downtown streets of St. Louis.
History
The bridge was built in 1951 as the Veterans' Memorial Bridge to relieve congestion on the MacArthur BridgeMacArthur Bridge (St. Louis)
The MacArthur Bridge over the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois is a 647 foot long truss bridge. Construction on the bridge was begun in 1909 by the city of St. Louis to break the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis's monopoly on the area's railroad...
to the south and was built as a toll bridge and was owned by the City of East St. Louis. At one time, it carried U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 66 across the river. In 1967, the bridge fell into disrepair when the (free) Poplar Street Bridge
Poplar Street Bridge
The Poplar Street Bridge, officially the Bernard F. Dickmann Bridge, completed in 1967, is a long deck girder bridge across the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois...
was constructed, and traffic began to use that route, leading to declining toll revenues.
Eventually, ownership was transferred dually to the Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Departments of Transportation and the bridge was renamed after Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1987, the toll was removed. A bi-state project for about 24,000,000 USD to renovate the bridge at the behest of local civic and government leaders was carried out in the late 1980s. In the spring of 1989, the rebuilt bridge was reopened. In June 1990, the lighting of the bridge was completed by the St. Louis Port Authority. It is now an important contributor to the transportation needs of the region and the ambiance of the historic St. Louis riverfront.
On October 12, 2009 the bridge was closed in order to reduce the old four-lane configuration down to three wider lanes, install a waterproofing membrane over the bridge surface http://www.fox2now.com/ktvi-martin-luther-king-bridge-reopen-102009,0,253123.story, and to install a concrete barrier to separate eastbound traffic from westbound. Over the previous six years there had been 38 serious accidents, including several involving multiple fatalities.http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/along-for-the-ride/along-for-the-ride/2009/10/king-bridge-closure-on-schedule/ The $1.4 million project was aimed at eliminating these head-on collisions in the future. The bridge re-opened on October 21, 2009.
Route 799
The MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
half of the bridge is designated as unsigned Route 799 by MoDOT
Missouri Department of Transportation
The Missouri Department of Transportation is a state government organization in charge of maintaining public roadways of the U.S. state of Missouri.-External links:*...
.
External links
- Bridge info at Historic Bridges of the Midwest.
- maps.google.com zoomed in, hybrid mode