# Metropolis Bridge

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Metropolis_Bridge.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_Bridge
> Source revision: 1312308086
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Bridge in Illinois and Kentucky}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name= Metropolis Bridge
|image=Metropolis Bridge 2022b.jpg 
|image_size=
|caption= The bridge in 2022
|also_known_as= 
|carries=Single track of Paducah & Illinois Railroad (jointly owned by [Canadian National Railway](/source/Canadian_National_Railway), [BNSF Railway](/source/BNSF_Railway) and [Paducah & Louisville Railway](/source/Paducah_%26_Louisville_Railway))
|crosses= [Ohio River](/source/Ohio_River)
|locale= [Metropolis, Illinois](/source/Metropolis%2C_Illinois) and [McCracken County, Kentucky](/source/McCracken_County%2C_Kentucky)
|maint=Canadian National Railway (Operations) BNSF Railway (Maintenance)
|id=
|design= Simple [truss bridge](/source/truss_bridge), with plate-girder approaches
|
|length= {{convert|6424|ft|abbr=on}} (including approaches)
|width=
|clearance=|below= 
|traffic=Approximately 15 freight trains per day
|open=1917
|closed=
| mainspan = {{convert|708|ft|abbr=on}}
|toll=
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates = {{coord|37.14461|-88.74204|display=inline,title}}
|}}

The '''Metropolis Bridge''' is a railroad bridge which spans the [Ohio River](/source/Ohio_River) at [Metropolis, Illinois](/source/Metropolis%2C_Illinois). Originally built for the [Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad](/source/Chicago%2C_Burlington_and_Quincy_Railroad), construction began in 1914 under the direction of engineer [Ralph Modjeski](/source/Ralph_Modjeski).

The bridge consists of the following: (from north to south)

* Deck plate-girder approach spans
* One riveted, 9-panel [Parker through truss](/source/Parker_truss)
* Five pin-connected, [Pennsylvania through trusses](/source/Pennsylvania_truss)
* One pin-connected, 8-panel [Pratt deck truss](/source/Pratt_truss)
* Deck plate-girder approach spans

Total length of the bridge is {{convert|6424|ft}}. The largest span stretches {{convert|708|ft}}, and remains the longest pin-connected simple through truss span in the world. Cost of the bridge when built was $4,000,000.

Not long after completion in 1917, ownership of the bridge was passed on to the [Paducah and Illinois Railroad](/source/Paducah_and_Illinois_Railroad), a newly formed railroad jointly owned by the [Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad](/source/Chicago%2C_Burlington_and_Quincy_Railroad) and [Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway](/source/Nashville%2C_Chattanooga_and_St._Louis_Railway). In 1925, the [Illinois Central Railroad](/source/Illinois_Central_Railroad) purchased a 1/3 share of the Paducah and Illinois Railroad, and assumed operations and maintenance, as the bridge served as an important link in their newly completed Edgewood-Fulton Cutoff route.

As of 2013, the bridge is still owned by the Paducah and Illinois Railroad, with operations managed by Illinois Central Railroad successor [Canadian National Railway](/source/Canadian_National_Railway) and bridge maintenance/inspection managed by the [BNSF Railway](/source/BNSF_Railway), where it continues to see heavy use.

==References==
* {{cite book | author=Cook, Richard J. | title=The Beauty of Railroad Bridges in North America -- Then and Now| publisher=Golden West Books, California (USA) | year=1987 | isbn=0-87095-097-5}}

==External links==
* [http://bridgehunter.com/il/massac/metropolis/ Historic Bridges of the United States]

thumb|left|350px|Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad crossing of the Ohio River at Metropolis, Illinois -- now operated by the Canadian National Railway

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Bridges
|place           = [Ohio River](/source/Ohio_River)
|bridge          = Metropolis Bridge
|bridge signs    = ''Canadian National Railway''
|upstream        = [Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge](/source/Interstate_24_Ohio_River_Bridge)
|upstream signs  = 20px
|downstream      = [Cairo Rail Bridge](/source/Cairo_Rail_Bridge)
|downstream signs = ''Canadian National Railway'' 
}}

{{KentuckyHistoricalRR}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1917
Category:Railroad bridges in Illinois
Category:Railroad bridges in Kentucky
Category:Buildings and structures in McCracken County, Kentucky
Category:Buildings and structures in Massac County, Illinois
Category:Bridges over the Ohio River
Category:Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Category:Illinois Central Railroad
Category:Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Category:Metal bridges in the United States
Category:Pennsylvania truss bridges in the United States
Category:Pratt truss bridges in the United States
Category:Parker truss bridges in the United States
Category:1917 establishments in Illinois
Category:1917 establishments in Kentucky
Category:Transportation in Massac County, Illinois
Category:Transportation in McCracken County, Kentucky

{{US-rail-bridge-struct-stub}}
{{Illinois-bridge-struct-stub}}
{{Kentucky-bridge-struct-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Metropolis Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.