Did the city attempt to have the terminal railroad even consider keeping the former auto deck on this bridge? This could have been an awesome bike/walking bridge with amazing views downtown.  Sadly, the deck is almost entirely removed.  Even keeping the portion that is left now would be cool.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Bridge_(St._Louis)

I have always thought the same thing.

Louisville did something like this with their Big Four Bridge. The entire riverfront has been converted to a park with paths. The bridge was converted for pedestrian/cycling use. I went down on a weekday night around 9PM and the place was packed. People everywhere strolling across, cycling..sitting on the benches. Great views of the river and downtown. My exact thought was why in the hell doesn't St. Louis have something like this.

We have a pedestrian path across both the Eads and McKinley bridges.

McKinley connects to the riverfront Bike trail and Eads to the Landing/Arch grounds/Wash Ave.

That's true. I have biked over both, but a third or fourth option would have been cool...

The issue is most likely due to the fact that such a decision would have had to have been made in 1981 when it closed to road traffic. I'm not sure what the condition was at that time but there wasn't much of a movement for such things at that time to where if it closed even 10 years later it may have been different. By the time there was a movement for such things the road deck was already significantly removed.

What would be great is if there was a bike/pedestrian bridge access on the JB bridge since there is a lack of crossings there. (also more crossings on the Meremec would help as well.

ENR Midwest - ENR Midwest Owner of the Year: Aging Railroad Bridges Replaced in St. Louis

The second phase of the $15-million rehabilitation of the MacArthur Bridge, which stands just south of the Merchants Bridge, will rehabilitate the main spans and the east approach. It is slated for completion in 2026.

https://www.enr.com/articles/58324-enr- ... n-st-louis

^They deserve some recognition, I think. Those were really tough projects and they did them well.

Federal funding for the completion of the MacArthur Bridge rehabilitation is at risk according to Rep. Budzinksi:

https://www.constructforstl.org/bell-bu ... -projects/