Second Hannibal Bridge

View an article describing the construction of this bridge

View an article describing the temporary bridge used during construction

View an article describing the removal of the old bridge

View an article describing the first bridge at this location

Located on the north side of Kansas City, this crossing of the Missouri River played a vital part in the development of Kansas City into a major railroad hub. A railroad crossing of the Missouri River into Kansas City had been sought since the mid-1860s. In 1865, the The Kansas City, Galveston, and Lake Superior Railroad was incorporated to construct a bridge across the Missouri River. The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad would take over the project in 1866, and hired Octave Chanute to complete the crossing in February of 1867. This was a daunting project for Chanute, who was becoming a respected engineer for railroad projects. Constructing a bridge across the Missouri River was a challenging task, as the river was continuously shifting, and often flooded. Chanute took on George S. Morison for the project, who was a young engineer at the time. The construction of the bridge would prove difficult, with no two piers being designed alike. The bridge was completed in July 1869, and opened to traffic in front of a large crowd. In addition to carrying a single railroad track, the bridge was also used by wagons and pedestrians. The project proved to be a milestone for Chanute, who would design numerous other large railroad bridges. In addition, Chanute would later go on to work on airplane concepts, and is often considered to be the "Father of Aviation". This project launched Morison to national fame, and Morison would construct numerous large bridges across the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

The first bridge utilized a combination of iron and wood trusses, with the main trusses being combination spans. Chanute originally had intended for the wooden components of the trusses to be replaced with iron at a later date. The trusses were fabricated by the Keystone Bridge Works, which would become a prominent bridge builder in the later 19th Century. The bridge, known as the Kansas City Bridge and later the Hannibal Bridge, would solidify Kansas City as the prime city in the region, and provide the first permanent railroad crossing of the Missouri River. As traffic increased, the need for a stronger bridge became apparent. Span "B", the second from the northern shore, was replaced by a 10-panel, pin connected Pratt through truss span in 1886. In 1889, a 250-foot, 10-panel pin connected Pratt through truss span was installed to replace span "C" of the bridge, and a 200-foot, 8-panel span of the same design would be installed to replace span "D". Span "E", the swing span, would be replaced by a 363-foot, pin-connected Pratt through truss swing span in 1892. In addition, span "F", the southern truss span, would be replaced by a 132-foot, 6-panel span of the same design the same year. The northern span, span "A" was replaced by a 177-foot, 7-panel, pin connected Pratt through truss in 1899, and the southern span, span "G" was replaced by a 69-foot through plate girder span the same year. This method of replacing a large bridge in a piecemeal manner was unusual for railroads of this time, as it required more disruption to traffic and was generally more expensive than contracting one bridge project. The replacement bridge utilized gates and signals at the end, as wagon traffic and railroad traffic shared the same deck.

By the 1910s, the old bridge had become too light for traffic, and the railroad desired to build a double track bridge. In 1915, plans begin to replace the bridge slightly upstream and realign the north approach. The realignment of the bridge was desired to cross the Missouri River at a right angle, and prevent future problems. The south abutment would be positioned in nearly the same spot, but the north abutment would be shifted several feet upstream. Work was contract that year, and began in 1916. The Union Bridge & Contracting Company received the contract for constructing five piers, and the American Bridge Company received the contract for fabricating the superstructure. The bridge was designed by C.H. Cartlidge, who unfortunately died while overseeing the construction of the bridge. A temporary tram, trestle and lift bridge would be constructed over the river to facilitate construction. The five main piers were constructed using pneumatic caissons, and were constructed with concrete by the contractor. The remaining piers and abutments were constructed of concrete on piles, and were constructed by railroad forces. During the work, the swing span and southern span had to be removed to allow for the construction of the through girder spans. Work on the new bridge was completed in early 1917, and the old bridge was demolished. The swing span was converted to fixed spans, and reused at an unknown location. The remaining spans were also reused at unknown locations.

The "Second Hannibal Bridge" would consist of a 450-foot, 17-panel riveted Baltimore through truss span, set onto a center pivot pier. This particular span is of the center rim bearing pivot design, where the span is set onto a drum, which rests on rollers. The swing span would be approached by two 330-foot, 12-panel Baltimore through trusses and a 75-foot deck plate girder span on the north end, and a 120-foot deck plate girder span with an 89-foot and a 65-foot through plate girder span on the south end. The 65-foot through plate girder span was constructed to cross the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The approach truss spans were unusual for the use of both pinned and riveted connections. Lower connections and mid level connections were all constructed of pinned connections, while upper connections utilized a riveted design. The truss spans all used a heavy X-Frame portal bracing, heavy members and a ballast deck. The through girder spans would utilize a standard CB&Q design, with deep tapered edges, a heavy floor and a ballast deck. The bridge also featured two levels, with two tracks using the lower level, and a 20-foot highway deck on the upper level. A series of plate girder spans carried the highway, and these spans were set onto steel towers and concrete pedestals.

In 1951, flooding damaged the bridge when barges slammed into the swing span. In 1953, L.G. Barcus & Company was contracted to widen the channel by reconfiguring the north approach. An additional 70-foot deck plate girder span was added, and new concrete substructures installed. It is unknown if this 70-foot span was fabricated for this bridge, or moved from another location. By the 1950s, the roadway deck had become obsolete for automobile traffic. The bridge carried US Highway 169, which was a major road through Kansas City. With a surge of post-World War II automobile traffic on the roads of Kansas City, a new bridge was needed. A new Broadway Bridge was constructed immediately upstream of this bridge, opening to traffic in 1956. Aerial imagery shows that the roadway deck was removed from the bridge between 1957 and 1959.

Recent alterations to the bridge include repairs to the steel and concrete of the bridge. The bridge continues to be heavily used, and still carries two tracks. While the new Broadway Bridge (later named the Buck O'Neil Bridge) was constructed to replace this bridge, that bridge would be replaced in 2024, while the railroad bridge continues to serve traffic. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being highly significant, due to the truss design, historical significance and unusual configuration as a double deck bridge.