Driving to Wichita – Day 6, Part 1

Day 6, Monday

Can I do it?

I consider plans for the day. There’s plenty of time as I don’t need to be in Kansas City until Thursday. First up is the Chain of Rocks Bridge, but after that, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I look up Google Maps and wonder about visiting the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or taking a river boat day-cruise, but websites say there is a lot of construction in the area and there isn’t any close parking. Riverboat cruises start in the same area, too. I don’t want to deal with traffic, city, and construction, especially if I can’t park close enough to comfortably walk.

The main goal today is to walk the Chain of Rocks Bridge. I discovered it months ago when I was tracing my route to Kansas City on Google Maps which showed crossing the Mississippi along I-270. I saw the Chain of Rocks Bridge listed nearby, looked it up, and was immediately intrigued. The Missouri access parking lot is closed due to vandalism, so I investigated the Illinois-side approach. Google Maps shows a long expanse of the bridge over land; five of the 11-spans are over Chouteau (Shoo Toh) Island. Will I be able to walk that far -- enough to be over the Mississippi River? I want to see the river. Will my legs give out before I reach the river? I am determined to do this!

Author’s Note Disclaimer: I perused dozens of websites before and after, and storyboards  at the site, and found discrepancies between them. I’ve pieced together information as best as I could. Please forgive me if I got anything wrong here below and further in the writing. Thank you.

Chain of Rocks Bridge – a little preliminary history

The 5,353 foot Chain of Rocks Bridge was opened in 1929 providing access between Madison, Ill., and the north side of St. Louis, Mo., allowing drivers to avoid the downtown area. It is 24 feet wide with two lanes, but what is most unique about this over-a-mile-long bridge is that it was built with a 22-degree bend near the middle (there are varying website reports with some saying 24 degrees and others 30, and one says the bridge is 5,348 feet long). There are a total of 11 sections with the two widest across the water. Three shorter ones are on the Missouri side and five on the Illinois side.

The bridge, with its five cent toll, was named after the series of rock ledges 17 miles long in the Mississippi River along St. Louis. These rocks made navigation along this section extremely dangerous and impossible during times of low water. For many years, it was the northern-most port on the Mississippi as ships and boats could not go farther north. As a matter of fact, this was the only area in the Mississippi denying full water-navigable access between St. Paul, Minn., and New Orleans, La., and was one of the reasons for the unusual engineering design in the bridge. 

The bridge could not be built straight across the river because the bedrock would not support the weight of the piers, so the next plan was to build the bridge at a diagonal across the river. However the Army Corps of Engineers did not approve. Another reason for the unusual bend in the bridge was the need for solid rock footings on both sides and one website said it was partly because the promoters 

The bridge became part of U.S. Route 66 in 1936 and in 1955 it became Bypass US 66 as the newly-built I-270 became the bypass in 1965 and became known as the New Chain of Rocks Bridge. The original bridge then became the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. (Route 66 has had five bridges crossing the Mississippi River at varying places leading into St. Louis.) 

The bridge was abandoned in 1970 and left to ruin. Trailnet (a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healthy, active living in the St. Louis area with walking and biking trails) renovated the bridge and it was reopened in 1999 as part of a 300-mile hiking/biking trail system between Illinois and Missouri. It’s now considered one of the, if not the, longest pedestrian/bicycle bridges in the world. 

I love bridges and I love history and the fact that the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was once part of Route 66 fascinates me. I remember watching the old TV show “Route 66” when I was a kid and hearing the tag line in the song “Get your kicks on Route 66.” I have to see this! But the length has me hesitant; I’m not sure I can walk the mile over and back, especially in the heat and humidity. 

Google Maps says the bridge is 46 miles from the hotel. I wish there was someone to talk to about it. It seems funny that such an iconic structure has little advertising attraction. 

I check out of the hotel chatting for quite awhile with Tracy, the same desk clerk as yesterday. Outside I take a few photos of the buffalo on the next property after hearing another guest mention them. 

I contemplate visiting the American Farm Heritage Museum whose access road is right across the street from the hotel. That looks to be a fascinating place, but I want to get to the bridge before it gets too hot. (Later reading up on the museum makes me wish I took the time. See www.americanfarmheritagemuseum.com. If you’re going to visit the area, it would be worth the visit.)