On May 4, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill approving construction of a Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau.

Portions of its road deck were worn down to the steel grid, to the point that the water below could be seen through small holes in the asphalt.

Large chunks of rust were falling onto maintenance workers' heads, and photos circulated in the media showing the deteriorating roadway and a broken steel beam held up by a chain.

[2][3] As the bridge's rapid deterioration gained greater public attention in 2002 and 2003, traffic over it significantly decreased, resulting in a sharp drop in customers for businesses across the river in East Cape Girardeau.

After Gustav Lindenthal constructed a railroad bridge using the continuous through truss design at Sciotoville, Ohio, in 1916, other engineers began to warm up to the concept.