The Metropolis Bridge is a railroad bridge which spans the Ohio River at

Metropolis, Illinois Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, Massac County, Illinois, United States. It has a population of 6,537 according to 2010 United States Census, the 2010 United States Census. Metropolis is the county sea ...

. Originally built for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, construction began in 1914 under the direction of engineer

Ralph Modjeski Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American civil engineer who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder." Life He was born in Bochnia, called Galicia at the time, on Janu ...

. The bridge consists of the following: (from north to south) * Deck plate-girder approach spans * One riveted, 9-panel Parker through truss * Five pin-connected, Pennsylvania through trusses * One pin-connected, 8-panel Pratt deck truss * Deck plate-girder approach spans Total length of the bridge is . The largest span stretches , and remains the longest pin-connected simple through truss span in the world. Cost of the bridge when built was $4,000,000. (USD) Not long after completion in 1917, ownership of the bridge was passed on to the

Paducah and Illinois Railroad Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missour ...

, a newly formed railroad jointly owned by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, ...

. In 1925, the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

purchased a 1/3 share of the Paducah and Illinois Railroad, and assumed operations and maintenance, as the bridge served as an important link in their newly completed Edgewood-Fulton Cutoff route. As of 2013, the bridge is still owned by the Paducah and Illinois Railroad, with operations managed by the Canadian National Railway and bridge maintenance/inspection managed by BNSF Railway, where it continues to see heavy use.

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Historic Bridges of the United States
Bridges completed in 1917 Railroad bridges in Illinois Railroad bridges in Kentucky Buildings and structures in McCracken County, Kentucky Buildings and structures in Massac County, Illinois Bridges over the Ohio River Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Illinois Central Railroad Louisville and Nashville Railroad Metal bridges in the United States Pennsylvania truss bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States Parker truss bridges in the United States 1917 establishments in Illinois 1917 establishments in Kentucky Transportation in Massac County, Illinois Transportation in McCracken County, Kentucky {{Kentucky-bridge-struct-stub