The Quincy Memorial Bridge is a

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, o ...

over 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 fl ...

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

. It brings eastbound

U.S. Highway 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...

into the city of Quincy from Missouri. It was built in 1930, initially as a

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...

, and remains structurally sound. Building of the bridge began in 1928 by the Kelly-Atkinson Company. It was completed in 1930, with the first car crossing the bridge on May 19th of that year on an official inspection trip. The original toll for the bridge was 50 cents, by 1945 the city had paid the outstanding bonds which financed the bridge's construction, and the fares were eliminated. In 1986, to serve additional traffic volumes crossing the Mississippi River into Quincy, the Illinois Department of Transportation constructed the

Bayview Bridge The Bayview Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge bringing westbound U.S. Route 24 (US 24) over the Mississippi River. It connects the cities of West Quincy, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. Quincy Memorial Bridge serves Eastbound US-24. The ...

just to the north of the Memorial Bridge. Westbound traffic was then routed onto the Bayview Bridge, while eastbound traffic was routed onto the Memorial Bridge. Since 2012, demolition and replacement of the historic Memorial Bridge with a more modern one is being considered by the Illinois Department of Transportation to cope with increased traffic demands on the aging bridge.

References

* Weeks III, John A. "US-24 Quincy Bayview & Memorial Bridges Quincy, MO" ic/nowiki>
http://www.johnweeks.com/upper_mississippi/pagesB/umissB13.html
Retrieved January 14, 2006. * Unknown. "Should we build a new bridge?
WQAD
November 26, 2003. Retrieved January 14, 2006. Truss bridges in the United States Bridges over the Mississippi River Road bridges in Illinois Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Quincy–Hannibal area Monuments and memorials in Illinois Monuments and memorials in Missouri Bridges completed in 1928 U.S. Route 24 Buildings and structures in Marion County, Missouri Road bridges in Missouri Former toll bridges in Illinois Former toll bridges in Missouri 1930 establishments in Illinois 1930 establishments in Missouri Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States {{Missouri-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References