Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor
The Emerson Bridge is Cape's Mississippi crossing
MoDOT's Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge page explains the modern bridge linking Cape Girardeau, Missouri, with East Cape Girardeau, Illinois.
The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is everyday driving infrastructure and local identity at the same time. MoDOT says the bridge opened to traffic on December 13, 2003, and links Cape Girardeau, Missouri, with East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, across the Mississippi River.
MoDOT describes the structure as a cable-stay bridge that is 100 feet wide and 4,000 feet long. The City of Cape Girardeau’s history page explains the older Cape Girardeau Bridge was closed when the Emerson Bridge opened downstream.
For drivers, the bridge is the Route 74 crossing into Illinois. For residents, it explains why a county page needs MoDOT sources for bridge restrictions, inspections, and work zones. Check MoDOT for current bridge conditions rather than relying on local memory.
References
Where this fits: this note belongs to Cape Girardeau County. See every local note for the county on its page.