Eads Bridge, Steel arch bridge in St. Louis, United States
Eads Bridge is a steel arch structure spanning 1964 meters (6440 feet) across the Mississippi River between St. Louis and East St. Louis. Three steel arches support a two-level design 14 meters (46 feet) wide that carries both road and rail traffic.
Completed in 1874, this was the first major steel structure to cross the Mississippi River. Construction introduced methods such as pneumatic caissons to North American engineering practice.
The name honors James Eads, who designed and directed the project despite never having built a bridge before. Today commuters ride the light rail on the lower level daily, while cars use the upper roadway.
Pedestrians can use the crossing on the upper level, where a walkway runs alongside the roadway. Access is available from both riverbanks, and the light rail on the lower level runs regularly between the two cities.
Construction workers excavated foundations up to 30 meters (100 feet) below the riverbed, setting records for bridge foundation depth at the time. The compressed air in the caissons caused health problems for many workers, including decompression sickness that was poorly understood then.
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