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Clark Bridge facts for kids

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This page is about the Clark Superbridge carrying U.S. 67 between Illinois and Missouri. For the upstream bridge carrying U.S. 54, see Champ Clark Bridge (2019). For the Second Street Bridge carrying U.S. 31 from Louisville, Kentucky, see George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge.
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Clark Bridge
Clark bridge west alton mo dec 2009.jpg
Coordinates 38°52′56″N 90°10′44″W / 38.88222°N 90.17889°W / 38.88222; -90.17889
Carries 4 lanes of US 67
Crosses Mississippi River
Locale West Alton, Missouri and Alton, Illinois
Other name(s) Clark Superbridge
Maintained by Illinois Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design Cable-stayed bridge
Total length 4,620 feet (1,408 m)
Longest span 756 feet (230 m)
History
Opened January 1994

The Clark Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Mississippi River between West Alton, Missouri and Alton, Illinois. Named after explorer William Clark like the bridge it replaced, the cable-stayed 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, 108-foot-wide bridge (33 m) replaced the old Clark Bridge, which was only 20 ft wide (6.1 m). 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. Its construction was featured in a NOVA documentary entitled 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 8,100 tons of structural steel; 44,100 cubic yards of concrete; and more than 160 miles of cable wrapped with four acres of yellow plastic piping.

Images for kids

  • Clark Bridge from Melvin Price Locks

    The Clark Bridge. View is upriver to the northwest from the Melvin Price Locks below the bridge

  • Clark Bridge at Alton, Illinois

    Clark Bridge as seen from the Missouri side of the Mississippi

  • Altonbridge

    Clark Bridge seen from the Alton Marina

  • Clark Bridge P7100193

    Clark Bridge at Alton, Illinois from the Missouri side.

  • Clark Bridge, Alton, Illinois

    View of the Clark Bridge spanning the Mississippi River from the Alton, Illinois side

  • Clark Bridge at night

    Clark Bridge at night; taken from the Ellis Island Bird Sanctuary, West Alton, Missouri.

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