Hannibal Bridge

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Hannibal Bridge
Hannibal Bridge in 1869
Carries	Railroad & Pedestrians
Crosses	Missouri River
Locale	Kansas City, Missouri to North Kansas City, Missouri
Opening date	1869
Destruction date	1917
Maps and aerial photos

The first Hannibal Bridge around 1908 from postcard, shown after its reconstruction due to severe structural damage.

The First Hannibal Bridge was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River and was to establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center.

Construction started in 1867, right at the end of the American Civil War. Construction on the bridge was completed in 1869. The completion of the bridge came after a short battle between the much bigger Leavenworth, Kansas and the town of Kansas City for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad bridge.

After construction was completed and the population of Kansas City began to boom tremendously.

It was designed by Octave Chanute, who also designed the Kansas City Stockyards. Its design was for it to be a swing bridge which could open in just two minutes, and it had an arched truss design. The bridge cost $1 million to build in its day.

The bridge was built by the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. Although the raiload became part of the BNSF Railway, the name "Hannibal" has stuck.

In 1886, the bridge was severely damaged by a tornado which collapsed a middle span. It was reconstructed and its truss structure was altered from an arch design to a traditional truss design. It was later replaced by the Second Hannibal Bridge 200 feet upstream, where it still stands today.