A thriving city craves infrastructure. With St. Louis’ location on one of American’s great river include bridges.
While the highway deck of the Eads carried it’s portion and the MacArthur downstream made a large contribution the city begged for more.
The City of East St. Louis, Illinois responded by constructing a toll bridge. It opened to traffic in 1951 with the name Veteran’s Memorial Bridge. The design is listed as cantilever truss and it adds a graceful note of interest to the downtown riverfront.
The toll is gone now and it received a good renovation in the late 1980’s. Even the name has changed – to Martin Luther King Bridge. Yet it continues to carry a daily ration of commuters.
