Martin Luther King Bridge (St. Louis)

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It has been suggested that Route 770 (Missouri) be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

**Martin Luther King Bridge**
Image:MartinLutherKingBridge StLouis MO.jpg MLK bridge from Eads Bridge Metro station, IL side
Carries	4 lanes of Route 770
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois
Maintained by	Missouri Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation,
Design	Cantilever bridge
Longest span	962.6 ft.
Total length	4008.8 ft.
Width	40.0 ft.
Vertical clearance	19.4 ft.
Opening date	1951
Maps and aerial photos Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps Topographic map from TopoZone Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth

The Martin Luther King Bridge (formerly known as the Veterans Bridge) in St. Louis is a cantilever truss bridge of about 4000 feet in total length across the Mississippi River, connecting St. Louis with East St. Louis, Illinois. The bridge serves as traffic relief connecting the multiplexed freeways of Interstate 55, Interstate 70, Interstate 64, and U.S. Highway 40 with the downtown streets of St. Louis. It is currently officially designated Route 770 by the Missouri Department of Transportation,^{[citation needed]} although no signs are posted.

[edit] History

The bridge was built in 1951 as the Veterans' Memorial Bridge to relieve congestion on the MacArthur Bridge to the south and was built as a toll bridge and was owned by the City of East St. Louis. At one time, it carried U.S. Highway 40 and U.S. Highway 66 across the river. In 1967, the bridge fell into disrepair when the (free) Poplar Street Bridge was constructed, and traffic began to use that route, leading to declining toll revenues.

Eventually, ownership was transferred dually to the Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation and the bridge was renamed after Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1987, the toll was removed. A bi-state project for about 24,000,000 USD to renovate the bridge at the behest of local civic and government leaders to renovate the bridge was carried out in the late 1980s. In the spring of 1989, the rebuilt bridge was reopened. In June of 1990, the lighting of the bridge was completed by the St. Louis Port Authority. It is now an important contributor to the transportation needs of the region and the ambiance of the historic St. Louis riverfront.