Old St. Charles Bridge, On Route 115, Saint Charles, St. Charles County, MO

Significance: This is the oldest existing bridge over the Missouri River in the State of Missouri. It was designed by John Alexander Low Waddell, a prominent bridge engineer of the late nineteenth-early twentieth centuries, of the firm of Waddell and Hedrick. It was fabricated by the Midland Bridge Company. Both firms were from Kansas City. The bridge has four main Pennsylvania (Petit) through-truss spans, plus deck truss, plate girder, deck girder, I-beam and continuous deck girder approach spans. This was the first permanent highway bridge across the Missouri River at St. Charles (a short-lived pontoon bridge preceded it). It was originally designed as a combination highway and electric train bridge. It opened in time for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, and proved to be a major boon to the transportation and commerce of the city of St. Charles. It was originally a toll bridge.
Survey number: HAER MO-30
Building/structure dates: 1904 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1916 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1920 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1935 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1937 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1978 Subsequent Work