Martin Luther King Bridge (St. Louis)

Martin Luther King Bridge
MLK bridge from Laclede's Landing
Coordinates	38°37′52″N 90°10′46″W / 38.63111°N 90.17944°W / 38.63111; -90.17944
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; 73 years ago (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.