The Eads Bridge after being struck by a tornado.
is a combined road and railway bridge over the
Mississippi River at
St. Louis. It is named for its designer and builder,
James B. Eads. When completed in 1874, Eads Bridge was the longest bridge in the world, with an overall length of 6,442 feet (1,964 m). The ribbed steel arch spans were considered daring, as was the use of steel as a primary structural material. Eads Bridge was the first bridge to be built using cantilever support methods exclusively, and one of the first to make use of
pneumatic caissons. The Eads Bridge caissons, still among the deepest ever sunk, were responsible for one of the first major outbreaks of "
caisson disease", and thirteen workers died.
See Also
An 1875 drawing of Eads Bridge by Camille N. Dry.
External links