Martin Luther King Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°37′52″N 90°10′46″W / 38.63111°N 90.17944°W |
Carries | 3 lanes (1 westbound and 2 eastbound) of Route 799 |
Crosses | Mississippi River |
Locale | St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois |
Other name(s) | Veterans Bridge |
Maintained by | Illinois Department of Transportation |
Characteristics | |
Design | Cantilever bridge |
Total length | 4,009 ft (1,222 m) |
Width | 40 ft (12 m) |
Longest span | 962 ft (293 m) |
Clearance above | 19.4 ft (6 m) |
Clearance below | 98 ft (30 m) |
History | |
Opened | 1951 |
Closed | October 2018—August 19, 2020[1] |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 12,700 (2014)[2] |
Location | |
The Martin Luther King Bridge (formerly known as the Veterans Bridge) in St. Louis, Missouri, is a cantilever truss bridge of about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in total length across the Mississippi River, connecting St. Louis with East St. Louis, Illinois. Opened in 1951, the bridge serves as traffic relief connecting the concurrent freeways of Interstate 55, Interstate 64, and U.S. Route 40 with the downtown streets of St. Louis. It was renamed for King in 1968 after the national civil rights leader was assassinated that year.