Clark Bridge

The Clark Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Mississippi River between West Alton, Missouri and Alton, Illinois, United States. Named after explorer William Clark like the bridge it replaced, the bridge opened in 1994. It carries U.S. Route 67 across the river. It is the northernmost river crossing in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The new $85 million, Template:Convert replaced the old Clark Bridge, which was only Template:Convert wide. The truss bridge was built in 1928. The new bridge carries two lanes of divided traffic in each direction, as well as two bike lanes. The old bridge carried only two lanes (similar to the upstream Champ Clark Bridge).

The bridge is sometimes referred to as the Super Bridge, and its construction process was documented in the 1997 NOVA episode Super Bridge, which highlighted the challenges of building the bridge, especially during the Great Flood of 1993. Designed by Hanson Engineers under contract to Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT), the Clark Bridge was the first in the United States in which "such a light steel-framed cable-stayed design was combined with a cable saddle type of pylon". The bridge used Template:Convert of structural steel; Template:Convert of concrete; and more than Template:Convert of cable wrapped with Template:Convert of yellow plastic piping.

See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
• Lewis Bridge

Gallery

• The Clark Bridge. View is upriver to the northwest from the Melvin Price Locks below the bridge
  The Clark Bridge. View is upriver to the northwest from the Melvin Price Locks below the bridge
• Clark Bridge as seen from the Missouri side of the Mississippi
  Clark Bridge as seen from the Missouri side of the Mississippi
• Clark Bridge seen from the Alton Marina
  Clark Bridge seen from the Alton Marina
• File:2006-09-05 3000x1700 alton clark bridge.jpg
• Clark Bridge at Alton, Illinois from the Missouri side.
  Clark Bridge at Alton, Illinois from the Missouri side.
• View of the Clark Bridge spanning the Mississippi River from the Alton, Illinois side
  View of the Clark Bridge spanning the Mississippi River from the Alton, Illinois side
• Clark Bridge at night; taken from the Ellis Island Bird Sanctuary, West Alton, Missouri.
  Clark Bridge at night; taken from the Ellis Island Bird Sanctuary, West Alton, Missouri.

External links

• Template:Structurae
• David Goodyear and Ralph Salamie, "The Clark Bridge", from Civil Engineering, August 1994
• "Super Bridge", PBS, Companion page for NOVA episode
• "Super Bridge", PBS Nova episode, replay of full episode on Archive.org