The bridge was originally built by the St. Louis Merchants Exchange after it lost control of the Eads Bridge it had built to the Terminal Railroad. The Exchange feared a Terminal Railroad monopoly on the bridges but it would eventually lose control of the Merchants Bridge also.
In 2018 work began on an extensive renovation of the bridge projected to cost $172 million.[4] In September 2022 the Terminal Railroad completed the large reconstruction project, doubling the bridge's capacity from roughly 32 trains per day to 70 trains per day. Prior to the reconstruction, only one train, traveling at 5 miles per hour, could cross the bridge at a time.[1][5] Following the renovation, two trains could pass each other simultaneously on the bridge at up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) in speed.[5] In addition, the bridge can now handle a 15 ft train width (4.6 m), an increase from about 13.5 ft (4.1 m), and can support a railcar weight capacity of 315,000 lb (143,000 kg), an increase from 286,000 lb (130,000 kg). The final cost of the project was $222 million.[6]
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