Virtually Explore the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and Chouteau Island! Madison Illinois

[@EGlideKid]

We rode our dirt bikes all over Chouteau Island back in the late 60s and early 70s when I was a kid. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were made here. Thanks for make this vid!

[@rjmcallister1888]

Good pictures. Rode on this 1929 bridge as a kid (it was Bypass 66/temporary I-270 then) and on a bicycle many years later, after it closed when the new bridge opened in 1968. The toll booth was on the Missouri side. It's only 20 feet wide; imagine being in a car with a large truck coming on the curve. The canal bridge isn't in very good shape, so it was reduced to one lane.

[@KenHauptfleisch]

The canal bridge is fine, it was reduced to one lane for the bike path when the landfill was still active and dump trucks were crossing it all day

[@thejudge61]

My buddy Leonard used to live out on Chouteau Island back in the 80s and I would go out to visit him. It was very awesome

[@MarkBarone-o5f]

I echo EGlidekid , back in the late 70s and early 80s we had a motocross track setup on the island , rode it Many times , I lived in south st. louis and trailered bikes up there to ride , Have ridden the greenway trail many times from arch area and even further south of there on my road bicycle , Have ridden the trails / slash roads on the island on my mountain bike many times also , and most recently before i retired from from a natural gas utility in St .Louis , for several years worked on the island on propane piplelines that run through Chouteau from Hartford illinois down to South St..louis by River city casino . Chouteau island is a very unique area , And by the way the video was AWESOME !!!!!

[@1mespud]

Kudos! Thank you for this!

[@Detcaligirl]

Cool video. Thank you.

[@neatruns4558]

Glad you liked it!

[@redbone7040]

👍👍👍👍👍excellent💯

[@mathachanv.j8854]

Excellent Videography. 👍❤️❤️❤️. Like very much. Love from INDIA. ❤️❤️

[@neatruns4558]

Thank you!

[@jdhinckley1954]

Great video. Added to my list of places to go. BTW, the big "barrels" at the low water dam are called caissons. Normally used for construction in marine environments as a way to access the bottom for building bridges and similar structures. They're often filled in though to make barriers as in this case.

[@neatruns4558]

Glad you liked it, thanks for the info!

[@johnvinga5446]

Happened to fly to St. Louis a few years ago for a friend's memorial service. Met a gentleman on the plane who explained his father (now retired) worked for the St. Louis water company and was responsible for maintenance on these water intakes. I believe he said the intake pipes are six feet in diameter. The workers had to take boats out to the water intake stations, quite a feat in the winter and during nasty weather.

[@neatruns4558]

Thats interesting thanks for sharing

[@aliensojourner]

I crossed that bridge when I was eight yrs old...I remember an amusement park being on the left side as you entered Missouri. Im surprised there was no record/mention of in the parking area.

[@ronwhite3203]

Thanks for the Video! Very informative!

[@Nitro_Joe]

Trails? Did you say “trails?” My family spent 2 hours in that mess under the bridge. Un-maintained is being polite. My hiking project app record is a mess on that particular trek. Great job on the video.

[@thejudge61]

I remember driving across that steel deck bridge to go out to his house

[@caramcculley4640]

I'm happy to see this video, because I live in Madison County and I would never go here alone. The reason there's trash everywhere isn't the water, it's the people. The same people who vandalize the trail maps, spray graffiti all over everything, and make me afraid to go there alone.

[@anaixtar6793]

I have stopped at the Bridge many times on cross country trips.... it is probably my best rest stop. You might not have seen anyone parked on te Missouri side because of the warnings how dangerous it is there---- car break ins are very common on that side.

[@cindyheinz3712]

The Missouri side parking lot was closed for renovation to make it safer from cars being vandalized. I believe it is now open.

[@davidsummers2616]

It hasn’t been mentioned in the video that I can tell, but this is the bridge that they filmed escape from New York with Kurt Russell

[@Geoplanetjane]

I have been there

[@rwrice5356]

The parking area on the Missouri side was closed because of vehicle vandalism and theft. Not a safe area.

[@slalomking]

True. An woman from Iowa came down to ride her bicycle across the bridge. When she got back to the parking area on the MO side, she was greeted by a St. Louis welcome. A cinder block through her side window.

[@jtbuilds9176]

Ahhh, the St. Louis welcoming committee. They pop up everywhere though, definitely a bad area though. The lot is open now though I believe.

[@alanmccalla6737]

My comment was here last night. Where did it go? Was it removed?

[@neatruns4558]

what did it say?

[@alanmccalla6737]

It recalled that Trail Net incorporated the bridge in the metro downtown STL and metro east into a massive bicycle trial...and that it was stopped after 911 because it ran too close to the building housing the St Louis water treatment plant intake.

[@deanwarfield1896]

I don’t understand why the music changes volume

[@neatruns4558]

You can probably blame me for bad editing :)

[@marshagoddard6862]

Note: the chain of rocks is a natural phenomenon, not man made. In fact, the Union troops during the Civil War in the 1860s tried to remove the rocks so the river could be navigated, but the rocks were both so large and buried so deep that they gave up. If you notice, the rocks are more sparse on the Missouri side where they tried to remove the rocks for about 100 yards out, then gave up. The rocks were NOT placed there by any humans.

[@neatruns4558]

Thanks for commenting! Yes the chain of rocks reach is a naturally occurring phenomenon, the rocky terrain just under the water made moving cargo down the Mississippi historically difficult. The low water dam, however, is a man made construction to help keep a high enough water level at the entrance of the canal.

[@Detcaligirl]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I was wondering if it was natural. I’m happy they couldn’t remove them.

[@POWER-LINKS]

Very high crime area. Be alert. Don't go in small groups.

[@neatruns4558]

It's not that bad

[@anaixtar6793]

just don't park on the Missouri side and pay attention to your environment

[@POWER-LINKS]

@@anaixtar6793 It's all about BREAKING DOWN in high-crime areas, which is why you don't drive in those places. The creeps will get to ya WAY quicker than your phone can call for help. They cruise back and forth on the highways specifically looking for broke down people to rob. I have multiple friends that do this on a daily basis. I'm fairly certain that this is also a nationwide thing.

[@dillontibbitts3024]

Why are we encouraging this?

[@neatruns4558]

Encouraging what?