Marion Memorial Bridge
Marion Memorial Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 35°01′41″N 85°32′37″W / 35.0280°N 85.5435°W |
| Carries |   US 41 / US 72 |
| Crosses | Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Truss bridge |
| Total length | 1,870 feet (570 m) |
| Longest span | 369 feet (112 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Closed | 2012, demolished 2015 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Marion Memorial Bridge | |
The Marion Memorial Bridge was a 4-span metal truss bridge that formerly carried U.S. Route 41 in Marion County, Tennessee over the Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake. It was built in 1929. The main span was 369 feet (112 m), and the bridge had a total length of 1,870 feet (570 m). The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 25, 2007.
The bridge featured an unusual truss configuration that is a hybrid of the Parker and K-Truss configurations. The bridge was replaced by a new concrete and box girder span that opened in November 2014, slightly delayed from its target completion date of August 2013 by conditions encountered in the construction of the replacement bridge footings. Since the construction of the new bridge's footings involved blasting within 30 feet (9.1 m) of the Marion Memorial Bridge, state officials closed the bridge to vehicle and pedestrian traffic on January 9, 2012, with traffic being re-routed to the Holman J. Walker Bridge south of the span. The metal trusses of the bridge were demolished and removed by June 2015. The bridge was delisted from the National Register in June 2016. Some people in the community expressed the desire to preserve the bridge in some way.[1] Tennessee Department of Transportation officials said the bridge was costly to maintain, citing as an example the repainting cost of $1 million.[2]
This bridge was built before the construction Nickajack Dam, a few miles downriver. The higher mean pool of the new reservoir necessitated raising the bridge from its original height, which took place shortly after the dam's completion in December 1967.[3]
A bridge of similar design in Meigs County, Tennessee, that carried Tennessee Highway 58 across the Hiwassee River was imploded in November 2007,[4] along with another similar bridge that carried Highway 58 over the Tennessee River in Roane County.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ Chattanooga Times Free Press, Marion Memorial Bridge span to be demolished, July 9, 2011
- ↑ Chattanooga Times Free Press, History falls in Hiwassee River Archived 2007-11-11 at the Wayback Machine, November 6, 2007
- ↑ Tennessee Valley Authority, The Nickajack Project: A Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, Initial Operations, and Costs, Technical Report No. 16 (Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1972), pp. 1-9, 32-34, 284.
- ↑ Chattanooga Times Free Press, Bridge on National Register Archived 2007-11-11 at the Wayback Machine, November 4, 2007
External links
[edit]
Media related to Marion Memorial Bridge at Wikimedia Commons
- Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere: Marion Memorial Bridge - Photos and information for the Marion Memorial Bridge.
Crossings of the Tennessee River | ||||
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| Related | |
- Bridges over the Tennessee River
- Buildings and structures in Marion County, Tennessee
- Monuments and memorials in Tennessee
- Bridges completed in 1929
- Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
- U.S. Route 41
- U.S. Route 72
- Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
- National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Tennessee
- Former National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
- Truss bridges in the United States
- Metal bridges in the United States
- Parker truss bridges in the United States
- Bridges completed in 2014
- U.S. Route 64
- 1929 establishments in Tennessee
- 2014 establishments in Tennessee