HISTORIC EADS BRIDGE, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Completed 1874

The Eads Bridge was built by the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company, with the Keystone Bridge Company serving as subcontractor for superstructure erection. 

The domination of the river trade had become less important than before the American Civil War, and Chicago was fast gaining as the center of commerce in the West. The Bridge was conceived as a solution to reverse this new found eminence.

Meanwhile in a devious attempt to secure their future, steamboat interests successfully lobbied to place restrictions on bridge construction, with the unproclaimed purpose of preventing any road structure at all.  The newly required spans and heights were previously unheard of, and would demand a bridge so grand and lofty that it would be impossible to erect by conventional building techniques.  

A bridge of this magnitude would require a radical design solution.  The result was the use of the ribbed arch construction.  The triple span, tubular metallic arch construction was supported by two shore abutments and two mid-river piers. Four pairs of arches per span (upper and lower) were set eight feet apart, supporting an upper deck for vehicular traffic and a lower deck for rail traffic.

Utilization of cast chromium steel components is arguably the first use of structural alloy steel in a major building construction. (Though the bridge as actually completed contained large—and unknown—amounts of wrought iron.)   Eads argued that the great compressive strength of steel was ideal for use in the upright arch design. This decision resulted from a curious combination of chance and necessity, due to the insufficient strength of alternative material choices.

Such a risk was involved in the construction that when completed an elephant was forced to precede humans on the first crossing in 1874.  Elephants have quite sensitive feet, and would have halted at any perceived instability. 

The construction of the bridge was featured in "The Men Who Made America",
Episode 2, The History Channel

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Richard Hayley Lever, Paddle Steamer Mark Twain, Mississippi River Eads Bridge at St. Louis