What It Is

A mile-long bridge, completed in 1929, that connects Madison, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, and features a unique, 30-degree turn at midpoint.  Hovering 60 feet above the mighty Mississippi River, it served folks traveling along Route 66 for more than 30 years until it was closed in 1968 and replaced with the New Chain of Rocks Bridge.  It stood abandoned for three decades until it was reopened to the public in 1999 as part of the Route 66 Bikeway.

Where It Is

2,000 feet downstream of New Chain of Rocks Bridge, also known as I-270, in Madison, Illiois, and St. Louis, Missouri

When We Went

July 2019

What We Did

Walked the bridge, sweated profusely, and admired old Route 66 memorabilia. 

How Much We Spent

Nothing. Parking in the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge parking lot on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River (my husband had read that crime was a problem on the Missouri side) was free, as was access to the bridge.

How Much Time We Spent There

We were there for about an hour.  We got there at 9:35 a.m., and it was already HOT!  We walked the whole length of the bridge (two miles, round trip) and spent only a little time looking around on the Missouri side.

What We Liked

Considering how old it is, the bridge was in great shape.  We enjoyed the views of the river, the unique bend in the road, and the historic signs and Route 66 markings along the way.

What We Didn't Like

The bridge offered little-to-no shade, and it was hot!  We were also a little unnerved by how empty the Illinois parking lot was when we got there.  It didn’t help that, as we made our way across the bridge to Missouri, we crossed paths with a man—heading in the direction of our car—who seemed very interested in asking how long it had taken us to walk that far.  My husband and I had ourselves freaked out, thinking he was going to be waiting for us when we got back across the bridge.  I was so convinced that he was going to jump us that I had my camera turned on and ready to take incriminating shots of him long before we reached the end of the bridge.  He was not in the parking lot when we returned to our car, but I was sufficiently rattled when we ended our walk.


Was it worth it? 

Despite the fact that I focused more on the man than our journey the second half of our walk, I still enjoyed it.  The bridge was surprisingly narrow, which only added to its authentic feel.


For more information, visit https://www.nps.gov/places/chain-of-rocks-bridge.htm.

Did You Know?  Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was intended to be built straight across the river.  However, this original plan had two flaws.  First, it ran the bridge too close to two water intake towers for the Chain of Rocks pumping station.  River captains argued that it would be too dangerous for them to try and navigate both the bridge piers and the towers at the same time.  Furthermore, the original plan didn’t account for the quality of bedrock across the entire span: there was one section that wouldn’t support the weight of the piers.

Was It Worth It?
Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

​Posted November 2, 2025, by Janet Wolfe