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| Eagle
Days
January 16 - January 17, 2009 One of the better places to
look for bald eagles on selected weekends in the Middle Mississippi River Valley is the Old Chain of
Rocks Bridge that connects St. Louis County, Missouri with Madison County,
Illinois. Built in 1929, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was once part of historic
Route 66. The bridge is 5,353 feet long and is one of the longest continuous
steel truss bridges in the country. One of its most distinctive features of the
Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is the 22-degree bend in the middle that allowed
southbound riverboats to align with the current, slip between the bridge's piers
and avoid crashing into two water intake towers midstream just south of the
bridge. Traffic on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge dramatically decreased when the
opening of the toll-free I-270 bridges in caused a decline in traffic and was
closed to vehicle traffic in 1968. The bridge was renovated in 1999 by Trailnet
and is one of the nation's longest pedestrian/bicycle bridges which features
level access and a cement surface. During the
winter, the Middle Mississippi River Valley hosts one of North America's largest
concentrations of bald eagles, who are drawn to areas of open water in search of
fish, their preferred food. The 2925 foot low-water River Dam #27 just south of
the bridge, often called the Chain of Rocks rapids, is a permanent rock-fill dam
built in 1960 to insure adequate depths for the old Alton Locks. The rapids
insure that water stays free of ice and attracts bald eagles looking for easy
fishing.
Spotting
scopes (top photo) manned by volunteers are spaced along the center of the
bridge to view eagles diving for fish or roosting in the trees along the
shoreline. The volunteers will have the eagles already sighted for easy viewing.
Remember, eagle spotting is an outdoor activity, so be sure and bundle up, as it
can get quite chilly on the bridge. Participants are also encouraged to bring
their own binoculars.
For more information on this event call call 314-877-1309 greatriverroad.com provides web pages free of charge for events run by Non-Profit Community Organizations that are of interest to visitors to the area. Contact the webmaster if you have an information on an event that greatriverroad.com can use to create a web page. We reserve the right to limit content. |
Since
1996 a group of environmentally oriented organizations have been holding the
annual Eagle Days event. The World Bird Sanctuary holds an educational live
eagle program (photo left) where visitors can view an eagle up close. This
program is repeated every 20 minutes from 10 am to 2:40 pm. The Illinois
Department of Natural Resources provides a life-sized replica of an eagle's nest
that children love to explore. In the warming tent on the middle of the bridge
the St. Louis Audubon and The Confluence have informational and educational
exhibits.
Eagle
Days also features Lewis and Clark reenactors who will have a camp set up
reminiscent of the 1804–1806 Corps of Discovery Expedition to give visitors a
glimpse of life during the explorers’ time. The Lewis & Clark State
Historic Site from nearby Camp River Dubois in Hartford, Illinois will have a
pirogue (photo left), a replica of one of the boats used on the expedition with
site interpreters explaining how this type on boat was instrumental on Lewis and
Clark's journey.
Directions
and Parking: n Missouri, free parking is available at the Missouri Tourist
Information Center (Riverview Drive just north of I-270) and at North Riverfront Park
(Riverview Drive south of the water treatment plant.) Free shuttle buses will be
available at both locations to transport visitors to the Missouri bridge
entrance. For a fee of $5, visitors may park at the Missouri entrance to the
Bridge; handicapped visitors may park in this lot free of charge. In Illinois,
free parking is available at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge entrance. Visitors to
this entrance will notice the improved and expanded parking. This improvement is
the first step in a long-term project of the city of Madison to create an
Illinois visitor center for the bridge and Chouteau Island. From I-270, drive
south on IL- 3 to Chain of Rocks Road, turn right (west) on Chain of Rocks
Road and cross the Chain of Rocks Canal. Follow the road and park near the
Illinois bridge entrance