HANNIBAL BRIDGE

The First 'Hannibal Bridge' was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River and was to establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center.
Construction started in 1867, right at the end of the American Civil War. Construction on the bridge was completed in 1869. The completion of the bridge came after a short battle between the much bigger Leavenworth, Kansas and the town of Kansas City for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad bridge.
After construction was completed and the population of Kansas City began to boom tremendously.
It was designed by Octave Chanute, who also designed the Kansas City Stockyards. Its design was for it to be a swing bridge which could open in just two minutes, and it had an arched truss design. The bridge cost $1 million to build in its day.
The bridge was built by the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. Although the raiload became part of the BNSF Railway, the name "Hannibal" has stuck.
In 1886, the bridge was severely damaged by a tornado which collapsed a middle span. It was reconstructed and its truss structure was altered from an arch design to a traditional truss design. It was later replaced by the Second Hannibal Bridge 200 feet upstream, where it still stands today.

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See also

External links

See also

★ List of crossings of the Missouri River

External links

★ KC Public Library photo of the tornado damage

★ KC Public Library photo of the bridge in 1881

★ KC Public Library photo of the bridge in 1870