Memphis & Arkansas Bridge
Highway bridge in Memphis, Tennessee, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, also known as the Memphis–Arkansas Bridge or inaccurately as the Memphis–Arkansas Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered through truss bridge[2] carrying Interstate 55 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. Memphians refer to this bridge as the "Old Bridge" to distinguish it from the "New Bridge", or Hernando de Soto Bridge, upstream.
Memphis & Arkansas Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°7′39.02″N 90°4′32.42″W |
Carries | 4 lanes of I-55 / US 61 / US 64 / US 70 / US 78 / US 79 SR 1 |
Crosses | Mississippi River |
Locale | West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee |
Official name | Memphis & Arkansas Bridge |
Maintained by | TDOT & ARDOT |
ID number | 79I00550101 |
Characteristics | |
Design | Cantilevered through truss bridge |
Total length | 5,222 feet (1,592 m) |
Width | 52 feet (16 m) |
Longest span | 791 feet (241 m) |
Clearance below | 112 feet (34 m) |
History | |
Construction start | September 12, 1945 (1945-09-12) |
Opened | December 17, 1949 (1949-12-17) |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 62,355 (2016) |
Memphis & Arkansas Bridge | |
Location | Memphis, Tennessee |
Built | 1949 |
NRHP reference No. | 01000139[1] |
Added to NRHP | February 16, 2001 |
Location | |
The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge also carries U.S. Route 61 (US 61), US 64, US 70, US 78, and US 79 from Memphis to West Memphis; it also carried US 63 prior to its truncation (and later rerouting) in Arkansas. The western terminus of Tennessee State Route 1 (SR 1) sits on the Tennessee–Arkansas boundary halfway across the bridge.
Opened in 1949, the bridge is currently the oldest bridge on the Interstate Highway System in Tennessee and Arkansas. It is currently planned to be replaced with a larger and wider bridge, starting in 2026.