



This steel bridge was built in 1874, at a total length of 6,442 feet (1,964 m). It was designed by Captain James B. Eads, who used a system of cantilevers to allow for the bridge's long length. At the time of its construction, the Eads Bridge was used primarily as a means to connect railroads running westward to Missouri and those running eastward to Illinois.[15] Photo: Kbh3rd, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eads_Bridge_panorama_20090119.jpg)