Dist. M. ASCE

To view the figures and tables associated with this article, please refer to the flipbook above. Alton, Illinois is located approximately 6-miles upstream from St. Louis and 200-miles south of the Burlington Bridge. It sits on a bluff overlooking the river with lowlands on the west side (Missouri) of the river. The shipping channel was close to the Alton side of the river but had been known to shift depending on the river flow.

To view the figures and tables associated with this article, please refer to the flipbook above. In late 1884, two corporations submitted a request to Congress for authorization to build a railroad bridge across the river at Memphis, Tennessee. At the time the closest bridge across the Mississippi was the Eads Bridge at St. Louis, Missouri, and that was 400 miles north of Memphis. Ten railroad lines were already entering the city from the west and east.

To view the figures and tables associated with this article, please refer to the flipbook above. As of 1891, Winona, Minnesota had two railroad bridges built in 1871 and 1891. Wagon traffic across the Mississippi river consisted of a wooden trestle on the Wisconsin side built to Latsch Island in 1887 at a cost of $9,500. A ferry then carried them to the city of Winona.