The Washington Bridge is a cantilevered

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...

 truss bridge

Truss bridge

A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...

 over the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 at Washington, Missouri

Washington, Missouri

Washington is a city on the Missouri River in Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,243 at the 2000 census. It is the corn cob pipe capital of the world, with Missouri Meerschaum located in Washington.-Geography:...

 over which Route 47 passes between Franklin County, Missouri

Franklin County, Missouri

Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri on the south side of the Missouri River. Franklin County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area and contains many of the St. Louis exurbs. Census 2010 put the population at 101,492; making it the 10th most populous county in Missouri....

 and Warren County, Missouri

Warren County, Missouri

Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Warren County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area and is located west of the city on the north side of the Missouri River. As of 2008, the population was estimated to be 31,214. Its county seat is Warrenton...

.

The bridge was built in 1934. Its main span is 474.6 feet (144.7 m) and it has a total length of 2561.3 feet (780.7 m) and a deck width of 22 feet (6.7 m). Its vertical clearance is 14.6 feet (4.5 m). The bridge carries one lane of automobile traffic in each direction.

The Missouri Department of Transportation shut down the bridge on at 7:30 am on 11 August 2007, claiming to have discovered problems during regularly scheduled inspections. As the bridge is similar to the I-35W Mississippi River bridge which collapsed in Minnesota, locals have speculated that the inspection and closure were related to this incident. The nearest open crossing over the Missouri river is approximately sixty miles (100 km) from the closed bridge. The bridge was reopened at 9:00 pm, but was scheduled for closure again at 7:30 am on Sunday 12 August 2007. The bridge is scheduled to be reopened again for good at 9:00 pm on 12 August.

As of the summer of 2009 the bridge was open and operating normally.