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, or ...

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 ...

in Quincy, Illinois. It brings eastbound U.S. Highway 24 into the city of Quincy from

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. 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 The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...

constructed the Bayview Bridge 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

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