The MacArthur Bridge over the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois is a 647 foot (197 m) long truss bridge. Construction on the bridge began in 1909 by the city of St. Louis to break the monopoly the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis had on the area's railroad traffic at the time. However, money ran out before the bridge approaches could be finished and the bridge did not open until 1917, and even then only to automobile traffic. Railroad traffic would not make use of the bridge's lower deck until 1928.
Initially, the bridge was called the "St. Louis Municipal Bridge" and known as the "Free Bridge." Tolls were added for auto traffic beginning in 1932. In 1942, the bridge was renamed for Douglas MacArthur.
The MacArthur Bridge was one of several bridges in St. Louis which carried U.S. Highway 66 until the completion of the nearby Poplar Street Bridge. At one time, U.S. Highway 460 crossed the bridge, terminating on the west side of the bridge. In 1981, the bridge was closed to vehicles because of pavement deterioration and the western ramp approaches were torn out. The bridge is now in use only by railroads. The vehicle deck is strong enough to hold the weight of people but not the weight of cars, trucks, etc. By August 2007, much of the road deck had been removed.
In 1989, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis acquired the MacArthur Bridge from the City of St. Louis in exchange for the title to the Eads Bridge. The Eads bridge, one of the primary reasons for the TRRA’s original formation, had become obsolete for modern-day rail traffic due to the height restrictions it placed on rail cars.
