Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champaign, Illinois. The route runs through the major cities of Decatur, Illinois, and Springfield, Illinois. In 2006, the Illinois General Assembly dedicated all of I-72 as Purple Heart Memorial Highway. The stretch between Springfield and Decatur is also called Penny Severns Memorial Expressway, and the section between mile 35 and the Mississippi River is known as the Free Frank McWorter Historic Highway.
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.
The Martin Luther King Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri, is a cantilever truss bridge of about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in total length across the Mississippi River, connecting St. Louis with East St. Louis, Illinois. Opened in 1951, the bridge serves as traffic relief connecting the concurrent freeways of Interstate 55, Interstate 64, and U.S. Route 40 with the downtown streets of St. Louis. It was renamed for King in 1968 after the national civil rights leader was assassinated that year.
The Florida Avenue Bridge is a vertical lift bridge spanning the Industrial Canal in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bridge has one railroad track, two vehicle lanes and two sidewalks. A parallel high-elevation four-lane roadway bridge is planned.
The Cairo Mississippi River Bridge is a type of cantilever bridge known as a Steel Truss Through Deck carrying U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62 across the Mississippi River. Located in the tri-state area of Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, it connects Cairo, Illinois at its northern terminus to Bird's Point, Missouri at its southern terminus. The bridge is currently closed for renovation until October 1, 2024.
The Quincy Rail Bridge is a truss bridge that carries a rail line across the Mississippi River between West Quincy, Missouri, and Quincy, Illinois, USA. It was originally constructed in 1868 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, a predecessor of BNSF Railway.
The Burlington Bridge is a vertical-lift railroad bridge across the Mississippi River between Burlington, Iowa, and Gulfport, Illinois, United States. It is currently owned by BNSF Railway and carries two tracks which are part of BNSF's Chicago–Denver main line.
The Keithsburg Bridge was a vertical lift bridge that carried a single railroad track across the Mississippi River between Louisa County, Iowa and Keithsburg, Illinois.
The Clinton Railroad Bridge, also called the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Bridge or more simply the Clinton Bridge, is a bridge that carries double tracked rail lines across the Mississippi River between Clinton, Iowa, and Fulton (Albany), Illinois. The bridge is a truss bridge with a swing span crossing the main river channel and is adjacent to the Gateway Bridge. The original bridge was constructed in 1858, and the first train crossed the bridge on January 19, 1860. The bridge was the second railroad crossing over the Mississippi River. In 1870, the bridge was declared a post route, therefore stopping the occupation of steamboats and approval of railroads. From 1859 to 1908, the mileage in operation increased from 28,789 to 229,230, prompting the Chicago and North Western Railway to replace the bridge with a new structure in 1900.
The La Crosse Rail Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between La Crescent, Minnesota and La Crosse, Wisconsin. The first bridge in this location initially was designed and ready to build by June 1876, and was completed in November 1876 by the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, a predecessor of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. It was later replaced in 1902. It is at the Western end of the Canadian Pacific Railway Tomah Subdivision. Amtrak's Empire Builder crosses this bridge.
Hastings Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. It is one of only four lift spans on the Mississippi River, the others being at Hannibal, Missouri, Burlington, Iowa and in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. It was built in 1981 by Milwaukee Road and was designed by Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff.
The St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is one of only three vertical-lift bridges along the Mississippi River, along with the Hastings Rail Bridge in Hastings, Minnesota, and the Wabash Bridge in Hannibal, Missouri. It was designed by Waddell & Harrington and built in 1913. In 1925, the north end of the bridge was raised about 16 feet (4.9 m) to tie in with tracks that served the St. Paul Union Depot yard. The vertical-lift span has 105-foot-high (32 m) towers, and the electrical lift system was built with a possible 45-foot (14 m) elevation. However, by 1973, the amount of lift was reduced to 37 feet (11 m) because of aging of the equipment.
St. Paul Union Pacific Rail Bridge, also known as the Hoffman Swing Bridge, is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between South Saint Paul, Minnesota and Saint Paul, Minnesota in the United States. It was built in 1910 by the St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway, and was rebuilt in 1925, after a flood in 1951, and again in 1982.
The Wabash Bridge carries a single track railroad from St. Louis County to the city of St. Charles. It is positioned next to the Discovery Bridge. It is used by the freight trains of Norfolk Southern Railway.
In the U.S. state of Illinois, U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west highway that runs across the central portion of the state. It runs east from Missouri over the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River with Interstate 72. The eastern terminus of U.S. 36 in Illinois is located near the unincorporated area of Raven near the Illinois-Indiana state line. This is a distance of 216.47 miles (348.37 km).
U.S. Route 36 in the state of Missouri is an expressway with many freeway sections, connecting Kansas to Illinois. From Cameron to the Illinois state line, it forms part of the principal route between Kansas City and Chicago, known as the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway.
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and Toledo, Ohio.
The Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying US 36 over the Mississippi River. It was replaced in 2000 with the extension of I-72 and subsequently demolished.
