Missouri’s Oldest Bridge Also World’s First Ever Steel-truss Span

Missouri is fortunate to have a rich history and that includes the state's bridges. Did you know that the oldest bridge in the state also happens to be the world's first ever steel-truss span and its origin dates back some 157 years.

This is one of those random facts you sometimes come across which you didn't plan to absorb information about, but then you end up on a multi-hour rabbit hole. That's what happened when I stumbled across a mention of this historic bridge on the St. Louis, Missouri city site while looking at garbage truck schedules. Like I said, random.

The span I'm talking about is the Eads Bridge which had humble beginnings in the mind of its creators in 1867. As the nation's railroads began to expand westward, St. Louis needed a bridge to cross the Mississippi River. A bunch of area business men hired James Buchanan Eads to design and construct this bridge and that he did.

James Eads and his team finally completed the bridge and it was dedicated on the 4th of July in 1874. It cost $10 million dollars to create which is a staggering number for that era. Once opened, it became the world's first steel-truss bridge.

This Missouri bridge has survived many catastrophes including ship collisions and has seen its share of floods over the past century and a half

It remains a National Historic Landmark and is a bucket list for any engineering major to see how the experts did it 157 years ago.