The Bridge That Launched a Thousand Postcards

by Chris Morrill

I attended the dedication of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge on Saturday, December 13th, 2003. That I would attend surprised even me, as I'm not usually one who usually attends civic "rah-rah" type events. But this event was important enough that even I was drawn into it.

It has always been easier for me to criticize than to praise. I guess it's my lot in life. About this bridge opening, however, I've nothing but good things to say. There's nothing snarky I can write at all. This will be a sarcasm-free piece.

Sure, I could complain about how cold it was. But that's the nature of the beast when you're sixty-odd feet over the surface of the Mississippi River in December. I could snipe and say that Senator Talent's hat was ugly. (For the record, it was.) I could point out that, for now, the Fountain Street extension doesn't seem to go much of anywhere. I could even complain about the bridge being opened three years late. But considering the majesty of the new bridge, I'll just let all that slide.

Being at the dedication of the new bridge helped me comprehend just how gorgeous the structure is. An example: the westbound lanes were opened up for pedestrians and seating during the ceremony, while the eastbound lanes were reserved for the stage and other ceremonial activities. The mere idea of cramming a stage full of local luminaries, much less pedestrians, in the middle of the narrow old bridge would have been ludicrous. Not to mention, dangerous. Yet, all these festivities fit on the Emerson Bridge with ease.

I was able to walk the length of the bridge after Congresswoman Emerson cut the ceremonial cable. This was actually my main motivation for going out there; I wanted to be able to say I "walked to Illinois" just once in my life. Not to mention, get plenty of pictures of the view from atop the bridge. And, heck, walking kind of kept my toes from getting more numb than they already were. Taking this long walk gave me a tremendous amount of respect for the majesty of the new span. There's such ample room in both directions that it makes the old bridge feel as stuffy as a broom closet. The towers pierce the sky so impossibly high that looking up at them almost inspires vertigo. This is a big, big bridge.

Almost as eye-opening as the beauty of the new bridge was the sorry condition of the old one. Everyone knows the old bridge was a rusty eyesore, but it's hard to truly appreciate just how nasty it looks until you get the bird's eye view from the Emerson Bridge. While I'm sure it was technically safe from a safety perspective, looking at it from the new angle that the Emerson Bridge provides will make you thankful the old span is finally closed. Now, instead of being a white-knuckle traffic hazard, the biggest problem the old bridge may provide until it's demolished is perhaps that some wacky kids that may sneak out there for a moonlight rendezvous.

Heck, I was so taken in by the experience that I even shelled out ten dollars for the commemorative dedication book. This is notable, since I rarely if ever buy that kind of stuff. But that book is worth it just for the mighty nice pictures alone.

Though the bridge did indeed take a few years too late to open, there was some small penance made by opening for traffic an hour early on opening day. I took my first joyride over the bridge via car the next morning. It was an odd feeling, vaulting over the Mississippi River at 45 miles per hour with plenty of room to spare on each side of me. In fact, I had to pass someone who was going too slow and rubber-necking. That was an odd feeling indeed, passing someone on the road to Illinois without breaking a sweat.

People in St. Louis apparently don't take their bridge openings so seriously. On the same day the Emerson Bridge opened, the new Page Avenue extension bridge over the Missouri River opened. Fanfare was not quite as exuberant for that event, from what I can glean from the news.

Of course, the St. Louis region has ten bridges open for traffic over the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Few of them are really much to look at from an aesthetic perspective, either.

Alas, we only have one bridge. Thankfully, it's a doozy.

Did we really need a cable-stayed bridge? Maybe not. A more conventional truss structure probably would have sufficed. But considering we have one bridge, not ten, it's nice to know it is easy on the eyes. The Emerson Bridge dominates the skyline in such an intimidating fashion that it is impossible for it not to be the default

symbol of Cape for generations to come.

Cape may not have an ocean, a beach, a lake, or even weather that's all that great. But this is the bridge that will launch a thousand postcards. Few pictures or paintings of Cape will be without it. For that, we can all be proud.