· President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated the original bridge on September 4, 1936 with more than 75,000 people in attendance.
· Missouri U.S. Senator and future president, Harry S. Truman was among the dignitaries present.
· This bridge was designed solely for the use of automobiles. Previously, trains, automobiles, horse-drawn vehicles, and pedestrians used the Wabash Train Bridge located to the north.
· A toll was charged for the first four years the bridge was in service to cover the construction costs of the project.
· The bridge spanned 2,636 feet across the Mississippi river. It contained 5.3 million pounds of fabricated structural steel and 645,000 pounds of reinforcing steel.
· A recurring summer problem was the swarming of mayflies attracted to the bridge lights. At times, the pavement was covered 2 inches thick by the insects, causing it to become extremely slick. Snow plows were necessary for their removal.
· The bridge was closed during the flood of 1993 from July to September. Water covered the approach on the Illinois side.
· The bridge closed to traffic on Saturday, September 16, 2000 following the dedication and opening of the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge.
· Demolition of the bridge began on January 8, 2001 with the blasting of the first span. Seven months were required
to remove the old bridge.
(adjacent 1935 WPA marker)
Mark TwainMemorial BridgeNamed as a tribute to the memory ofSamuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) on theoccasion of the centennial of his birthA.D. 1935Federal Emergency Administrationof Public WorksProject No. 8624Built byCity of Hannibal, Missouriin co-operation withHannibal Chamber of CommerceFinanced with the assistance ofMissouri State Highway CommissionIllinois State Departmentof Public Works and BuildingsandPine County, Illinois.Consulting EngineersSverdrup and ParcelSt. Louis, Mo.ContractorsThe Mt. Vernon Bridge Co.Union Bridge & Constr. Co.
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