Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis. It is named for its designer and builder, James B. Eads. When completed in 1874, Eads Bridge was the longest bridge in the world, with an overall length of 6,442 feet (1,964 m). The ribbed steel arch spans were considered daring, as was the use of steel as a primary structural material. Eads Bridge was the first bridge to be built using cantilever support methods exclusively, and one of the first to make use of pneumatic caissons. The Eads Bridge caissons, still among the deepest ever sunk, were responsible for one of the first major outbreaks of "caisson disease", and thirteen workers died.

See Also

• New Mississippi River Bridge

External links

• National Historic Landmark Designation - Statement of Significance
• Eads Bridge - the History and Heritage of Civil Engineering webpage (American Society of Civil Engineers)