The Clark Bridge is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

between

West Alton, Missouri West Alton is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 359 at the 2020 census. It is located at the tip of the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and is directly across Alton, ...

and

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...

. Named after explorer

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

like the bridge it replaced, the

cable-stayed A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

bridge opened in 1994. It carries

U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

across the river. It is the northernmost river crossing in the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. The new $85 million, replaced the old Clark Bridge, which was only .David Goodyear and Ralph Salamie, "The Clark Bridge"
''Civil Engineering'', August 1994, accessed 4 August 2009 The

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

was built in 1928. The new bridge carries two lanes of divided traffic in each direction, as well as two bike lanes. The old bridge carried only two lanes (similar to the upstream Champ Clark Bridge). The bridge is sometimes referred to as the Super Bridge. Its construction was featured in a NOVA documentary entitled ''Super Bridge'', which highlighted the challenges of building the bridge, especially during the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...

. Designed by Hanson Engineers under contract to Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT), the Clark Bridge was the first in the United States in which "such a light steel-framed cable-stayed design was combined with a cable saddle type of pylon". The bridge used of structural steel; of concrete; and more than of cable wrapped with of yellow plastic piping."Clark Bridge - Alton, Illinois"
Alton Web, accessed 4 August 2009

Gallery

File:Clark Bridge from Melvin Price Locks.jpg, The Clark Bridge. View is upriver to the northwest from the Melvin Price Locks below the bridge File:Clark Bridge at Alton, Illinois.jpg, Clark Bridge as seen from the Missouri side of the Mississippi File:Altonbridge.jpg, Clark Bridge seen from the Alton Marina File:2006-09-05 3000x1700 alton clark bridge.jpg File:Clark Bridge P7100193.JPG, Clark Bridge at Alton, Illinois from the Missouri side. File:Clark Bridge, Alton, Illinois.jpg, View of the Clark Bridge spanning the Mississippi River from the Alton, Illinois side File:Clark Bridge at night.jpg, Clark Bridge at night; taken from the Ellis Island Bird Sanctuary, West Alton, Missouri.

References

External links

*
David Goodyear and Ralph Salamie, "The Clark Bridge"
from ''Civil Engineering'', August 1994
"Super Bridge"
PBS, Companion page for NOVA episode * "Super Bridge", PBS Nova episode, replay of full episode on Archive.org {{Authority control Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Bridges over the Mississippi River Bridges in Greater St. Louis Bridges in St. Charles County, Missouri Bridges in Madison County, Illinois Alton, Illinois Bridges completed in 1994 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Road bridges in Illinois Road bridges in Missouri U.S. Route 67 Steel bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States 1994 establishments in Illinois 1994 establishments in Missouri Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States

See also

Gallery

References

External links