Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/566

 506 HISTOEY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI found on the entire river. This site was chosen and the companj' proceeded to erect here a double track cantilever bridge of mas- sive proportions. There are five spans. The center or canti- lever span is 671 feet long, each of the other spans is 521 feet. The approaches are built of concrete, one of these concrete arches hav- ing a span of 100 feet. The entire length of the bridge including approaches is 3,910 feet. It is 65 feet above high water mark and 108 violence of the river floods, or attacks of ice. It forms a link in one of the most important highways of travel from southwest to north and east. The volume of traffic carried across it is alreadj' enormous and is constantly in- creasing. The Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Rail- way possesses an unusual interest owing to the way in which the road was constructed. It was built to provide transportation facil- Mississippi River Bridge, Thebes feet above low water mark. From the lowest point of the pier foundations, which reach to bed-rock, to the topmost chord is 231 feet. The bridge was designed and constructed by the engineering firm of Noble & Modjeski. It was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on May 25, 1900, in presence of a large num- ber of railroad officials and other persons. The strength of the bridge was tested by running upon it a string of locomotives. It has been in constant use since that time and has never been affected by heavy traffic, the ities for the jiroducts and supplies of the St. Josei^h Lead Company at Bonne Terre. Up till 1880 this company, which operated one of the largest lead mines in the world, depended upon wagons for hauling between their mines and the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railway. In that year the St. Joseph Lead Company and the DesLoge Lead Company built a narrow-guage railway thirteen and a half miles long between the mines and Sum- mit, a point on the St. Louis & Iron Moun- tain. The cost of comstruetion was divided