Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1874-07-28
THE GREAT ST. LOUIS
BRIDGE.
BuckImg the Nations Iron Belt

The grandeSt pageant of the Fourth
of July was the celebration of the com.
pletion of the great bridge that now
! spreads its spans across the Mississp D.
pi at st. Louis, and overcomes what
has been up to this time the Only
break in the line of communication
between the Atlantic and the Pacific,
the bridge forming, indeed, the buckle
in the iron belt from East to West
These spans are of steel and the piers
of granite. They are higher than the
tallest steeple of st. Louis, and plant
ed in the deepest and most turbulent
current of the Mississippi. This bridge
may be accepted as an emblem al. d
earnest of the perpetuation of the
union of the country. The great Mis-
sissippi, which looks like a separating
liver, has been converted into a bond
of union. The significance of the
bridge as an evidence of our material
advancement cannot be overrated. -
The most remarkable of the changes
which have characterized the nine
tenth century belong to our own
country. AT the beginning of this
century st. Louis was a small village
with a few hundred inhabitants, ow-
ing allegiance to a foreign Govern
ment. Nearly half a year was requir-
ed to go from st. Louis to New York
and buy and bring back goods At a
still later period goods were hauled in
wagons drawn by horses from Phila-
delphia and Baltimore to the Ohio
river. 1t is comparatively short
time since the first whistle of rail-
way engine was heard on the west
bank of the Mississippi. And now
the West has become populous and
wealthy. the Pacific and Atlantic are
united by rail, st. Louis has popu-
lation approaching four hundred thou
sand, and from its situation and river
and railroad facilities has as bright
future as any city o. the Union
Since the earliest act of incorporating
st. Louis the necessity of permanent
way across the river has been impress
ed upon the minds OF its people
Other bridges have been thrown
across the Mississippi at points furth-
er up the river, where it is more east
ly SPAWNED. but they are simpler and
less scientific in construction, being
built with a draw" and at com para
lively small expense, while this is an
arch bridge, and with, il is believed,
the largest spans i'll the world. 1t
was in virtue of riparian rights conce-
ded by Illinois and Missouri, under all
act of Congress, and sustained by
the st. Louis Chamber of Commerce,
that the bridge was undertaken. This
great work has been five years in pre-
gress. The remarkable points about
the massive viaduct are the depth of
foundation, the width of the arches,
and the novelty of construction. In
mere length, though measuring / 800
feet, there are many that surpass it.
There is the Victoria bridge spanning
the st, Lawrence at Montreal, which
Is two miles long there is the bridge
over the Nebudda, which if a mile
and a half; there is the bridge from
Bassein TO the mainland, which is
over three miles in length. But none
of these bridges are marveiS, hecaHse
in none of them is there any eXtraor-
binary breadth of span nor great depth
of foundation. The style OF this bridge
is somewhat similar tO-that used i'll the
structure over the Rhine between
COblentZ and Ehreubreitstein, but the
span there is only $50 feet. The great
feature of the st, Louis bridge is that
it accommodates two double tracks of
steam railways, foot walks, street rail-
ways, and all styles Of vehicles, n0Hc
of which will iptel fere with the others,
nor will the bridge interfere with
navigation, for of the three arches the
GENITAL one is $40 and the two side
ones 500 feet. In the Victoria bridge,
which, as before stated, is two mites
long, there were % 600 tons OF stone
used, while in the western abutmeut
of this bridge alone p 900 tons were
called into play, and in the east abut-
ment pier, OwIpg TO the great weight
of the arch and extraordinary dcl.ti
of the pier, $1,000 tons of stone Were
used. The three spans are formed
with four ribbed arches made OF cast
steel. The strength is said to lie SD
enormous that if the bridge were
loaded with people from one end to
the other the arches would only be
taxed to the extent of less than one
sixth of the ultimate strength OF the
steel of which they are constructed
On the St. Louis bank brick arches
Join these stone arches and carry the
railway into tunnel at Third street,
and thence to the Union depot. p
The carriage road ends also at Third
street. On the Illinois side, at the end
of the stone arches. the railway d.
vides, curving 10 the north and south,
and gradually descending upon tres
tle-work approaches some three
thousand feet long, until the level
is reached, the gradient being about
one foot in one hundred. The car
riage road descends between two tres
ties, upon an incline of five feet in one
hundred. This massive structure cost
between Line and ten millions of
dollars.
The value and importance of such
work justified the grand display with
which St. Louis marked its open
ing on the Fourth. Addresses were
made on that occasion by Capt. b.
Able, representative of the Union
Mayor Brown, of st. Louis; General
Beverage, of Illinois g: General Wood
son, of Missouri; Hon. Il. GratZ
Brown, Capt. James Is Eads, the en-
gineer of the great work, and Cover
nor Hendricks, of Indiana. There
was a procession fifteen miles long,
a grand triumphal display
of the business features of st. Louis. =
AS an essential part of the celebration
was the passage across the bridge of a
train with a considerable number of
from East st. Louis to the
exit of the tunnel at its western outlet,
which was an entire success. The
train consisted of fifteen palace sleep
ing cars and three powerful locomo
tives, contributed by the Vandalia and
Illinois Ce ntral Company.