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Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge

Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge Opening, December 13, 2003

The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge was opened on December 13, 2003, and my oldest son crossed the bridge during the opening ceremony with the Cape Central Marching Tigers and my two younger sons crossed the bridge with Boy Scout Troop 11. I crossed all the way with the boy scouts, but did focus on taking photos. The above slideshow are my photos. Of course, this is 2003 and camera technology was not the same as it is today, but still yet I am thankful for the photos and the ability to share them. The bridge is named after Bill Emerson who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 until his death in 1996. Planning for the four-lane structure began in June 1987 and construction began in late 1996. The bridge connects Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Southern Illinois.

For more photos of the bridge and this area of town, see River Campus at SEMO University and Riverfront Bridge Park, as the bridge park is a great view of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge.

The old Cape Girardeau Bridge was thereafter demolished. The approach spans were blasted in August 2004, the main span was blasted on September 9, 2004, and the blast was intended to bring down only the longest of the main spans, but because of the continuous through truss design, the blast also caused the unintended collapse of the other two main spans, which original were intended to be blasted separately.

Photos

January 11, 2019

May 21, 2012

June 30, 2011

These are blurry! Night shots are not so easy.

May 3, 2011

These two photos are of the flooding of the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau. You can see how high the water is below the bridge with not much room for a barge to go under.

December 13, 2003

These are a select few of the photos from the above slide show on opening day.

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