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Historic Route 66:
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Old Chain of Rocks once carried traffic over the Mississippi on Historic Route 66, but since 1999 has hosted only non-motorized traffic as one of longest pedestrian bridges (5,353 feet) on the planet.
The bridge was built in 1929 and served travelers until the Interstate 270 bridge that opened in the late 1960s sucked all the traffic from Route 66 to the north.
Old Chain of Rocks gets its name from a series of rocks that form a "chain" to create a small rapids in the Mississippi near the bridge.
One of the more unique aspects of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is the 22-degree angle of turn over the river that directs barge traffic away from a pair of intake towers in the Mississippi. The towers were built in 1894 and supply water to St. Louis.
On the July Saturday afternoon that we trekked across the bridge, the old structure was filled with bikers, joggers, power walkers and folks (like us) just plain sightseeing. The view of the river from the bridge is exceptional.
Get Your Exercise on Route 66!
Today, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is the crown jewel of a series of hiking and biking trails on both sides of the river.
The St. Louis Riverfront Trail runs from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the bridge. The Confluence Trail on the Illinois side runs from Granite City to Alton.
All of this is part of the Confluence Greenway, a conservation, recreation and heritage corridor.
(You must go to the Greenway Web site's home page and listen for the sounds of nature. Gaze at the photos on this page at the same time and you'll convince yourself that you are strolling across the bridge.
It's what we here at Redhighways.com like to call a multimedia travel experience!)
Photos
Top: The approach to the Chain of Rocks Bridge from the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Above: The bridge that once carried travelers over the Mississippi on Historic Route 66 now carries bikers, joggers and walkers over the Big Muddy.
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