Old St. Charles Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Old St. Charles Bridge once connected St. Louis County to the city of St. Charles
.
s. They worked one hour at a time twice a day inside the piers. One worker died as a result of the bends
.
Progress on the bridge was slow for several reasons. Shipments of raw materials including lumber and steel were delayed. Inclement weather threatened work stoppages on several occasions. A dispute developed over the right-of-way needed for construction that had to be settled in court. And finally, raw materials had to be stored on the St. Louis County side due to the lack of available space in St. Charles. This forced workers to ferry materials and supplies across the river when needed on the St. Charles side.
Construction was completed in the spring of 1904 in time for the world's fair
in St. Louis. The bridge was a combination highway and electric railroad crossing. It was operated as toll by the St. Charles and St. Louis County Bridge Company until December, 1931. At that time it was incorporated in the state highway system as part of U.S. Route 40. Tolls and trolleys ceased in January, 1932.
In June 1959, the bridge was redesignated as part of Route 115 after a new U.S. Route 40 bridge opened that would later become part of Interstate 70. The bridge remained part of SR-115 until it was replaced by the Discovery Bridge. It was closed to traffic in 1992 and demolished in 1998.
Saint Charles, Missouri
St. Charles is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 65,794, making St. Charles the 2nd largest city in St. Charles County. It lies just to the northwest of St. Louis, Missouri on the Missouri River, and, for a time,...
.
History
Construction on the bridge began in August, 1902 with the sinking of the piers. Workers who worked inside the piers were called sandhogSandhog
Sandhog is the slang term given to urban miners, construction workers who work underground on a variety of excavation projects in New York City. Generally these projects involve tunneling, caisson excavation, road building, or some other type of underground construction or mining projects...
s. They worked one hour at a time twice a day inside the piers. One worker died as a result of the bends
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
.
Progress on the bridge was slow for several reasons. Shipments of raw materials including lumber and steel were delayed. Inclement weather threatened work stoppages on several occasions. A dispute developed over the right-of-way needed for construction that had to be settled in court. And finally, raw materials had to be stored on the St. Louis County side due to the lack of available space in St. Charles. This forced workers to ferry materials and supplies across the river when needed on the St. Charles side.
Construction was completed in the spring of 1904 in time for the world's fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
in St. Louis. The bridge was a combination highway and electric railroad crossing. It was operated as toll by the St. Charles and St. Louis County Bridge Company until December, 1931. At that time it was incorporated in the state highway system as part of U.S. Route 40. Tolls and trolleys ceased in January, 1932.
In June 1959, the bridge was redesignated as part of Route 115 after a new U.S. Route 40 bridge opened that would later become part of Interstate 70. The bridge remained part of SR-115 until it was replaced by the Discovery Bridge. It was closed to traffic in 1992 and demolished in 1998.