The original St. Charles Bridge, built in 1871 to carry the North Missouri Railroad, was the first bridge in St. Charles County. The bridge saw multiple incidents during its lifetime. In 1870, a steel column collapsed during construction resulting in the deaths of eighteen bridge workers. In 1879, a portion of the bridge collapsed during a train crossing. Eighteen train cars fell into the river resulting in five deaths. At 5:30pm on December 8, 1881,[1] the bridge failed again during a train crossing resulting in freight cars falling into the river. An engineer, John Kirksby of Moberly, Missouri,[1] died along with thirty-one cattle contained in the freight cars. In 1884, the Montana steamboat collided with the pier of the bridge. The steamboat could not be removed and was left in the river. It lies on the St. Louis County side of the Missouri River near the site of the first Wabash Bridge and can still be seen when the river is low.[2]
In 1936, the current Wabash Bridge was built about half a mile upstream from the old bridge, and the old bridge was demolished.[3] In June 2013, the Missouri River rose rapidly overnight causing a crane mounted to a barge to collide into the truss structure of the bridge. The crane, subcontracted by The Walsh Group was working up river on the new I-70 Blanchette Memorial Bridge. Train traffic across the bridge was halted for the four days while the crane was against the structure. In 2016, owner operator Norfolk Southern Corporation began installing a new tie deck across the bridge with a completion date of 2020.
^"History of the Wabash Bridge - St. Charles, Missouri - Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
^"Wabash - First Missouri River Bridge". Bridgehunter.com.
Sourcesedit
Waymarking - A scavenger hunt for unique and interesting locations in the world
Historic Bridges of the United States | St. Charles County, Missouri
January 01, 1970
wabash, bridge, charles, missouri, wabash, bridge, carries, single, track, railroad, from, louis, county, city, charles, positioned, next, discovery, bridge, used, freight, trains, norfolk, southern, railway, wabash, bridgecoordinates38, 7974, 4673, 7974, 4673. The Wabash Bridge carries a single track railroad from St Louis County to the city of St Charles It is positioned next to the Discovery Bridge It is used by the freight trains of Norfolk Southern Railway Wabash BridgeCoordinates38 47 51 N 90 28 02 W 38 7974 N 90 4673 W 38 7974 90 4673CarriesNorfolk Southern RailwayCrossesMissouri RiverLocaleSt Louis County and St Charles County in MissouriCharacteristicsDesignCantilevered Through Truss BridgeHistoryOpened1936Location The first Wabash Bridge 1871 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 SourcesHistory editThe original St Charles Bridge built in 1871 to carry the North Missouri Railroad was the first bridge in St Charles County The bridge saw multiple incidents during its lifetime In 1870 a steel column collapsed during construction resulting in the deaths of eighteen bridge workers In 1879 a portion of the bridge collapsed during a train crossing Eighteen train cars fell into the river resulting in five deaths At 5 30pm on December 8 1881 1 the bridge failed again during a train crossing resulting in freight cars falling into the river An engineer John Kirksby of Moberly Missouri 1 died along with thirty one cattle contained in the freight cars In 1884 the Montana steamboat collided with the pier of the bridge The steamboat could not be removed and was left in the river It lies on the St Louis County side of the Missouri River near the site of the first Wabash Bridge and can still be seen when the river is low 2 In 1936 the current Wabash Bridge was built about half a mile upstream from the old bridge and the old bridge was demolished 3 In June 2013 the Missouri River rose rapidly overnight causing a crane mounted to a barge to collide into the truss structure of the bridge The crane subcontracted by The Walsh Group was working up river on the new I 70 Blanchette Memorial Bridge Train traffic across the bridge was halted for the four days while the crane was against the structure In 2016 owner operator Norfolk Southern Corporation began installing a new tie deck across the bridge with a completion date of 2020 See also editList of crossings of the Missouri River Montana steamboat References edit a b A Dreadful Drop St Louis Globe Democrat December 9 1881 p 4 Retrieved December 16 2022 via Newspapers com History of the Wabash Bridge St Charles Missouri Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking com www waymarking com Wabash First Missouri River Bridge Bridgehunter com Sources editWaymarking A scavenger hunt for unique and interesting locations in the world Historic Bridges of the United States St Charles County Missouri Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wabash Bridge St Charles Missouri amp oldid 1144229881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
