Merchants Bridge

Last updated
Merchants Bridge
TheMerchantsBridge.jpg
Coordinates 38°40′29″N90°11′10″W / 38.67472°N 90.18611°W / 38.67472; -90.18611
CarriesFreight and passenger traffic
Union Pacific, BNSF, Amtrak
Crosses Mississippi River
Locale St. Louis, Missouri, and Venice, Illinois
Official nameMerchants Memorial Mississippi Rail Bridge
Owner Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
Characteristics
DesignSteel truss bridge
Total length2,490 feet (760 m)
Longest span520 feet (160 m)
Clearance above 83 feet (25 m)
Capacity70 trains per day [1]
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks 2
History
Opened1889
Rebuilt2022
Statistics
Daily traffic 32.3 trains per day (as of 2014) [2]
Location
Merchants Bridge

The Merchants Bridge, officially the Merchants Memorial Mississippi Rail Bridge, is a rail bridge crossing the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri, and Venice, Illinois. The bridge is owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. It opened in May 1889 and crosses the river 3 miles (5 km) north of the Eads Bridge. [3]

The bridge was originally built by the St. Louis Merchants Exchange after it lost control of the Eads Bridge it had built to the Terminal Railroad. The Exchange feared a Terminal Railroad monopoly on the bridges but it would eventually lose control of the Merchants Bridge also.

In 2018 work began on an extensive renovation of the bridge projected to cost $172 million. [4] In September 2022 the Terminal Railroad completed the large reconstruction project, doubling the bridge's capacity from roughly 32 trains per day to 70 trains per day. Prior to the reconstruction, only one train, traveling at 5 miles per hour, could cross the bridge at a time. [1] [5] The final cost of the project was $222 million. [5]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Merchants Bridge reopens after four-year $222M project". FOX 2. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  2. Missouri Department of Transportation (2017). The Merchants Bridge rehabilitation program (PDF) (Grant application). Figure 10: Rail Traffic Volumes Overlaid with Seismic Hazard, 2014.
  3. Primm, James Neal (1981). Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company. p.  311. ISBN   978-1-883982-25-6.
  4. "St. Louis' Merchants Bridge to receive $172-million renovation, privately funded". St. Louis Public Radio. 13 July 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Schlinkmann, Mark. "Replacement of 132-year-old St. Louis rail bridge nears completion". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.