The Old Chain of Rocks bridge is just a short distance north of St. Louis, MO. This bridge used to carry the famous Route 66 highway across the Mississippi River. Today this bridge is limited to pedestrian and bicycle traffic and is part of a trail system that is being developed in the area.
If you wish to visit the bridge by car, you should park on Chouteau Island on the Illinois side of the river. The parking lot on the Missouri side is closed off these days, most likely due to safety concerns. You can also ride a bike from St. Louis to the bridge if you wish, or park a couple of miles away from the bridge on the Missouri side and walk.
This is the entrance to the bridge from Illinois.
This is a pedestrian’s view of the bridge.
The bridge is unique because of a 22 degree bend in the middle.
There is some memorabilia on the bridge from the old days when it used to serve road traffic.
You find this rusted sign at the Missouri end of the bridge.
There also is a small rest area on the Missouri side of the bridge.
This is what the entrance to the bridge from Missouri looks like.
The next few pictures are from the bridge.
The pictures below were taken from one of the trails on Chouteau Island. The first picture also shows a water intake from the river, and the new Chain of Rocks bridge that carries Interstate 270 across the Mississippi.
Splattered Brains 
Love your pictures of route 66 and the bridge. Route 66 holds so many memories of song and words. I travelled with Kerouac in my youth.
In Australia we also have a bridge that would appeal to your engineering side. Like yours it has a bend in it which feels quite bizarre and also quite dangerous when driving over it. It is a two deck bridge with rail and pedestrian underneath the road on the upper storey. Not only that it has an opening bascule span so shipping can travel past on the river. Some photos and information can be seen https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/system/files/engineering-heritage-australia/nomination-title/GraftonBrisbane_Railway_Nomination.pdf
or of course Wikipedia (Grafton Bridge).
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Interesting story of the Grafton bridge. Looks like they are building (or have already built) a new bridge close to the old one. Amazing to hear that you traveled with Kerouac. You must have been quite young! I love exploring the forgotten America.
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I didn’t literally travel with Kerouac – only when reading. glad you found the bridge interesting. I haven’t been down that way for ahwile so don’t know if there is a new bridge yet or not.
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