Eads Bridge
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The Eads Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront betw
The bridge in 2025
Poster showing the construction of the bridge in different phases, ca. 1874.
An 1875 drawing of Eads Bridge by Camille N. Dry.
Toll collection in 1939
Caisson (engineering)
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In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a watertight retaining structure. It is used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the rep
Eads Bridge
…structures. Its foundations, more than 100 feet below water level, were the deepest underwater constructions at the time. They were installed using pneumatic caissons, a pioneering application of caisson technology in the United States and, at the time, by far the largest caissons ever built. Its 520-foot center arch…
Pneumatic caisson, supplied with compressed air