Eads Bridge

38.628055555556 - 90.171388888889117Koordinaten: 38 ° 37 ' 41 "N, 90 ° 10' 17 " W

Eads Bridge Street, Metrolink

Mississippi River

The Eads Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge. It connects St. Louis, Missouri with East St. Louis in Illinois across the Mississippi River, which forms the border between the two states here. On the lower floor runs the Metrolink, a light rail in the metropolitan St. Louis region (Greater St. Louis), the upper is a four-lane road.

History

The bridge is named after the designer and builder James Buchanan Eads. When the bridge was completed in 1874, was with 1964 meters, the longest arch bridge in the world. The construction of corrugated steel sheets was then considered reckless, but was at the Eads Bridge for the first time the most important part of the supporting steel parts.

The Eads Bridge was also one of the first bridges, whose edification the Kragträgerprinzip was used. Furthermore, it was one of the first bridge structures, which was built by using caissons. So also the caissons in the construction of the Eads Bridge for one of the first outbreak of decompression sickness in the bridge construction workers were responsible. 15 workers died because two others were severely disabled, and 77 contributed partial disabilities from.

On June 14, 1874 " test elephant" over the bridge just finished was performed in order to test their security. A large crowd cheered when a traveling circus on its way to Illinois first crossed the bridge. It was believed that elephants have an instinct for unsafe locations. Two weeks later, Eads undertook an exercise test with 14 locomotives, which also sailed the bridge.

Present use

The Eads Bridge, which was built up in 1965 as the Gateway Arch, the symbol of St. Louis was, is still in operation today. About the Eads Bridge to get between the downtown area of ​​Laclade 's Landing in the north and the Gateway Arch in the south direction from Illinois in the city of St. Louis. Today, the bridge on the road leading to two structurally separate lanes with two lanes as well as one structurally separate path for pedestrians and cyclists each direction. The tracks of the lower bridge floor is used by the light rail since 1993.

The Eads Bridge was taken in 1971 by the American Society of Civil Engineers in the List of National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.

Arts and Media

The construction of the Eads Bridge is the overall story of the band 68 of the Lucky Luke comics, drawn by Morris.

The Eads Bridge under construction during the 1870s

Drawing by Camille N. Dry, 1875

The Eads Bridge seen from the Station East Riverfront MetroLink from the