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The Merchants Bridge, officially the Merchants Memorial Mississippi Rail Bridge, is a rail bridge crossing the
The bridge was originally built by the St. Louis Merchants Exchange after it lost control of the Eads Bridge it had built to the Terminal Railroad. The Exchange feared a Terminal Railroad monopoly on the bridges but it would eventually lose control of the Merchants Bridge also.
In 2018 work began on an extensive renovation of the bridge projected to cost $172 million, which was completed in September 2022. The project involved completely replacing the three main bridge spans, and encasing the masonry piers to seismically retrofit them.
Prior to the reconstruction, the bridge's capacity was roughly 32 trains per day, with only one train traveling at 5 miles per hour able to cross the bridge at a time. Following the renovation, the capacity was 70 trains per day, with two trains able to pass each other simultaneously at up to . In addition, the allowable train width increased from about to , and the railcar weight capacity increased from to . The final cost of the project was $222 million.
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
between St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, and Venice, Illinois. The bridge is owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. It opened in May 1889 and crosses the river north of the Eads Bridge
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, St. Louis, Lacled ...
.
History
The bridge was originally built by the St. Louis Merchants Exchange after it lost control of the Eads Bridge it had built to the Terminal Railroad. The Exchange feared a Terminal Railroad monopoly on the bridges but it would eventually lose control of the Merchants Bridge also.
In 2018 work began on an extensive renovation of the bridge projected to cost $172 million, which was completed in September 2022. The project involved completely replacing the three main bridge spans, and encasing the masonry piers to seismically retrofit them.
Prior to the reconstruction, the bridge's capacity was roughly 32 trains per day, with only one train traveling at 5 miles per hour able to cross the bridge at a time. Following the renovation, the capacity was 70 trains per day, with two trains able to pass each other simultaneously at up to . In addition, the allowable train width increased from about to , and the railcar weight capacity increased from to . The final cost of the project was $222 million.
See also
*List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
This is a list of all current and notable former bridges or other crossings of the Upper Mississippi River, Upper Mississippi River which begins at the Mississippi River's source and extends to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinoi ...
References
Railroad bridges in Missouri Bridges over the Mississippi River Metro East Bridges completed in 1889 Bridges in St. Louis Steel bridges in the United States Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States {{StLouis-struct-stub