$40 million rehab of 142-year-old St. Louis bridge ends with celebration
The Eads Bridge will reopen to traffic at 3 p.m. Friday after it was closed to celebrate the $40 million rehabilitation of the 142-year-old structure crossing the Mississippi River.
The ceremony Friday morning drew about a dozen local politicians, including several congressmen. The bridge work started in September 2012 and was the first major rehabilitation of the structural steel. The Eads was the first bridge to rely on structural steel.
Work was originally expected to be completed in 2015.
Food trucks were on the bridge as pedestrians were invited to celebrate the end of the work, most of which was paid with federal funds.
The bridge is co-owned by Bi-State Development Agency and the City of St. Louis. It carries the MetroLink light rail system from Illinois to Missouri.
Explore Eads Bridge with interactive graphic below
This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 12:48 PM with the headline "$40 million rehab of 142-year-old St. Louis bridge ends with celebration."