Missouri’s Tallest Bridge Soars More than 300 Feet into the Sky

I will admit that I am deathly afraid of heights, so if I get a little vertigo sharing this with you, that's why. It's Missouri's tallest bridge and at its zenith it soars more than 300 feet into the sky. Excuse me, but I need to sit down now.

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I remember crossing the old Mark Twain Bridge in Hannibal, Missouri when I was a kid was a harrowing experience. By the time I was born and growing up in the 1970's, there were holes you could see through all the way to the water below on the sides of the car I was in. (*shudder*) It was finally replaced about 25 years ago and the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge is listed as the 2nd highest span in Missouri, but it's not even close to #1.

What is the tallest bridge in Missouri?

A hat tip to A-Z Animals on this find as they mentioned it's the Christopher S Bond Bridge in the Kansas City area. It's a monster towering over 316 feet tall.

There are many ways to measure a bridge's height. There's the total "tallness" (my preferred term) which measures the distance from the water to the top of the span and that's how the Christopher S Bond Bridge measures 316 feet. But, when you're talking about distance from the bridge surface (where the vehicles are) down to the water, that's something else entirely. By that measure, it's only 52 feet from the bridge to the river below.

If that were the sole measure, the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge would be #1 as it's 75 feet above the water below.

What's not to love about all of Missouri's historic bridges, both the tall ones and the ones that aren't.