Work began on the Saint Louis Municipal Bridge in 1909. Piers
were built, and steel was ordered. The three main steel spans
were in place by 1912. At that time, funding ran out, and three
successive bonding issues failed to pass during elections. As a
result, the bridge sat without the approaches being built. The
only part that was finished was the 6-foot wide walkway, which
hung off the downstream side of the structure (it has since been
removed, but the brackets that supported the walkway are still
in place and visible in one of the photos below). Several
hundred people a day crossed the bridge on foot. Funding kicked
in again after several years, and the roadway on the upper deck
was competed. Now known as the Free Bridge, it opened to auto
traffic in 1917. The city and the TRRA were still feuding, so
the TRRA put a de facto boycott on the bridge. It was not until
1928 that an agreement was reached, and trains started to use
the lower deck. The bridge was in full operation by 1931.
Despite being a city own