Boonslick Bridge

The Boonslick Bridge is a series of girder bridges on U.S. Route 40, Route 5, and Route 87 across the Missouri River between Cooper County, Missouri and Howard County, Missouri at Boonville, Missouri. It is named for Nathan Boone (rather than his father Daniel Boone which is popularly reported), who built a road between St. Louis, Missouri and a salt lick northwest of the bridge, which was the first departure location on the Santa Fe Trail.The bridge also has a segregated pedestrian and bicycle path. The Katy Trail State Park diverts from its railbed alignment to cross the Missouri River on this bridge, as the nearby MKT Bridge is unrenovated. The bridge, which opened in 1995, replaced a six-span truss bridge built in 1924 that was 19ft wide. The earlier bridge was 2100ft long with a 584ft approach in Cooper County and 500ft approach in Howard County. Three of its spans were 420ft and three were 280ft.