From the side, this looks like the bridge that was made out of spare parts. The bridge sections, starting at the Illinois side, are two small sections, one big section, two more small sections, two medium sections, the huge swing span, and one more small section. The river is about 3,700 feet wide in this section. Starting on the Missouri side, the crossing starts as 450 feet of embankment, a 162 foot truss, a 444 foot swing span, a 256 foot truss, a 226 foot truss, two spans of 161 feet, a big span of 322 feet, two more spans of 161 feet, and then 2,200 feet of embankment. When it was built, the 444 foot swing span was the longest swing span in the nation.

The bridge dates back to 1873, when it was one of the first 15 bridges that were built across the Mississippi River. The bridge was fully rebuilt in 1898 using the 1873 piers. Several spans were replaced in 1945. The 1873 bridge was built by the Chicago and Alton Railroad. It was sold to the B&O Railroad in 1929, which sold it to the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio in 1945. The GM&O became the Illinois Central Gulf in 1972. It was acquired by Chicago, Missouri, and Western in 1987, which subsequently became the Gateway Western, which is now part of the Kansas City Southern.