Both sides of the river, one side of the exam.

The desk's concept is for the whole metro, both sides of every highway, and the river is the biggest highway of all. Belleville, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Granite City, Alton, Columbia, Waterloo: a large share of the people who get hurt on I-64 at Kingshighway or on 270 at Dorsett live across the Mississippi and were on their way home. For them the question after a crash has a geography to it. Which bridge goes home, and which of the three offices is on the way?

The five crossings

From north to south. The Chain of Rocks Bridge carries I-270 between Granite City and north county; the old Route 66 span beside it is a footbridge now. The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge carries I-70 from the Illinois side into north downtown. The Martin Luther King Bridge and the Eads Bridge, the iron span in the photograph above, carry surface traffic and MetroLink into the heart of downtown. The Poplar Street Bridge carries I-55, I-64, and I-44 together in the densest few hundred yards of roadway in the metro. The Jefferson Barracks Bridge carries I-255 between Columbia and south county.

The northern crossings: Chain of Rocks and the Stan Musial

If you came in on I-270 or I-70, Hazelwood is the office. 14 Village Square Shop Ctr in Hazelwood sits minutes from the 270 and 170 interchanges, on the Missouri side of the Chain of Rocks Bridge, and on the way home to Granite City, Edwardsville, or Alton rather than out of it. Phone: (314) 627-1411. Monday through Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 12, closed 12 to 2.

The downtown crossings: King, Eads, and Poplar Street

The Poplar Street Bridge is three interstates braided into one deck, and its Missouri-side approaches, where I-55, I-64, and I-44 split apart again at the Arch grounds and the stadium, are built of merges at speed. Lane changes under pressure, trucks, and sudden stops make the approaches a rear-end corridor, and the deceleration injuries are the ones on the commute crash guide: neck, low back, and a jolted brain.

From downtown, the drive to an office is a choice. Hazelwood by I-70 west and I-170 north, or Tesson Ferry by I-55 south to I-270 and Tesson Ferry Road. For a Belleville or Collinsville commuter who crosses on Poplar Street, both are roughly the same detour; for a commuter who crosses on I-270, it is Hazelwood without a debate.

The southern crossing: Jefferson Barracks

If you came in on I-255 from Columbia, Waterloo, or Dupo, Tesson Ferry is the office. 11144 Tesson Ferry Road, Suite 200, is on the road that south county uses to get anywhere, a short run from the I-255 and I-270 interchange. Phone: (314) 530-5480. Same hours as Hazelwood, same midday closure.

The same injury on either bank

The state line changes paperwork; it does not change medicine. A neck loaded in a rear-end hit on the Missouri side is the same neck in Illinois that night, and the timeline is the same: a quiet first night, a stiff second morning, a foggy third day if the head is in it. The week-after guide is written for both banks. So is the instruction: an exam inside the week, whichever office is near, whether or not day one felt like anything.

The record works the same way too. A dated exam in Missouri is a care document first, built so the next clinician works from facts rather than memory. If a claim is ever part of your story, the dated record from the first exam is what everyone will ask for, on either side of the river. If you already have an attorney, bring their contact so records can be sent where they need to go. You do not need to have decided anything about a claim before you get examined, and this desk is not going to tell you what to decide.

Practical notes for the crossing

1. Call before you cross. All three offices close from 12 to 2, and O'Fallon runs Wednesday and Friday by appointment.
2. Say crash exam, say which day, and say which side of the river you are coming from so the office can tell you the best approach.
3. Bring the Illinois paperwork exactly as you would bring Missouri paperwork. The history does not care which state issued the report.
4. If anything on the emergency list is present, the nearest emergency room is the door, on whichever bank you are on. The bridge can wait.

What this page is not

It is a driving page, not a legal one. Nothing here is advice about Illinois or Missouri insurance, claims, or law, and Joseph L. Hollingsworth, DC, is a chiropractor, not a lawyer. The offices, hours, and phones are as published on moinjuryclinic.com; confirm on the call. Everything on this desk is educational, not medical advice, and published as advertising for Missouri Injury Clinic.