It’s hard to believe, but the MacArthur Bridge that once connected Route 66 from East St. Louis to St. Louis has been closed to vehicular traffic for more than 40 years but still is standing.
KHMO radio recently flagged this video by urban explorer Tattoo Tony Alton where he and a pal explored the bridge, which still carries rail traffic:
Not to be outdone, Roamin’ Rich Dinkela a few years ago produced his own video about the MacArthur Bridge. Dinkela now is president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri.
The bridge also has been called the St. Louis Municipal Bridge or Free Bridge. It served as an early alignment of Route 66, though other bridges in the region supplanted it, including the McKinley Bridge and the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.
The Terminal Railroad Company of St. Louis that owns the bridge began removing its automobile deck in 2014 to discourage trespassing.
It should be noted, however, that for decades, the bridge has been fenced off in East St. Louis and a small part of the roadway deck removed in the middle.
The bridge originally opened to traffic in 1917 and was renamed for Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1942.
(Image of the MacArthur Bridge in 2014 by Paul Sableman via Flickr)