The Grand Tower Pipeline Bridge is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

carrying a

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

between Wittenberg, Missouri and

Grand Tower, Illinois Grand Tower is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 479 at the 2020 census. The town gets its name from Tower Rock, a landmark island in the Mississippi River. History Former names of this town include ''La ...

Construction

Although construction of a natural gas pipeline under the Mississippi River would have been cheaper, this option would have created great difficulty in handling any leaks and maintenance, so it was decided to construct a bridge to carry the gas pipeline. The bridge was the first pipeline suspension bridge to cross the Mississippi River. It was constructed for the Texas–Illinois Natural Gas Pipeline company for an estimated $3,800,000 in 1953 (equivalent to $ in ). It was the final piece in the construction of a natural gas pipeline transporting gas from

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, which carries of gas a day at a pressure of . Work began in September, 1953. The bridge features two steel framework towers, one on each side of the river. Vertical steel suspender cables connect the twin pipelines to the main suspension cables, at a height of above the river. During construction the pipes were stretched out across the river where welders connected them together. Each pipe weighs 5 tons and it took 72 pipes to span the river, adding to around 360 tons of dead weight. The abutments to support this weight go to the bedrock, deep on the Illinois side and on the Missouri side. The site at Grand Tower/Wittenberg was chosen because the river is narrow and deep there, and the limestone bedrock could be easily reached.

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BridgemeisterMidwest PlacesBridgehunter
* Suspension bridges in Missouri Suspension bridges in Illinois Bridges over the Mississippi River Bridges completed in 1955 Transportation buildings and structures in Jackson County, Illinois Steel bridges in the United States 1955 establishments in Illinois 1955 establishments in Missouri {{Missouri-bridge-struct-stub

Construction

See also

References

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