Mark Twain Bridges over the Mississippi River at Hannibal, MO

1936-2000: (Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; HAER)
2000: (Bridge Hunter; Satellite, this was an extension of I-72 across the river)

Missouri State Archives via Bridge Hunter, License: Public domain: Released by author
June 3, 1952

I think the 2000 bridge is interesting because they used a through truss span over the navigation channel. Were tied-steel arch spans still in development a couple of decades ago?

Street View

Missouri State Archives via Bridge Hunter, License: Public domain: Released by author
June 3, 1952

I include this one because the smokestacks caught my eye and the fact that they used a through truss span over land.

Missouri State Archives via Bridge Hunter

This shows that the truss over land is spanning a lot of railroad tracks.

Missouri State Archives via Bridge Hunter
04-16-1951 Hannibal during flood

Forgotten Railways, Roads, and Places posted

The Mark Twain Memorial Bridge spanned the Mississippi River, connecting Hannibal, MO with the State of Illinois at Aladdin. The bridge was a Public Works Administration project, opening in 1936, coincidentally as part of US-36.

Before the bridge was built, automobiles could cross the Mississippi River at the nearby Wabash Bridge, which was built, and remains, as a railroad bridge. Originally opening as a toll bridge, the tolls were removed in 1940

In 2000, the bridge was demolished and replaced with a new bridge of the same name, carrying the newly-extended I-72 into Missouri, as well as US-36. A portion of the old Mark Twain Memorial Bridge remains is preserved at Cardiff Hill Overlook Park in Hannibal.

Image: Missouri State Archives
History: https://livingnewdeal.org/…/mark-twain-memorial-bridge-han…/

Missouri's Historic Highways posted
September 16, 2000 – The new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi at Hannibal was opened. The bridge carries Interstate 72 and US 36. It replaced the through truss span that opened in 1936. The inspection of the new bridge was delayed from April to August 2000 when a pair of endangered Peregrine Falcons was discovered nesting beneath the bridge.

David Webster posted
Tim Chism: Hannibal
[This road bridge is in the background. The foreground bridge is the NS/Wabash Bridge.]