Caruthersville Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge in Missouri and Tennessee, United States}}

{{Infobox Bridge

|bridge_name= Caruthersville Bridge

|image= Caruthersville Bridge1.jpg

|image_size=300px

|caption=

|official_name=

|also_known_as=

|carries= 4 lanes of 25px 25px I-155 / US 412

|crosses= Mississippi River

|locale= Caruthersville, Missouri and Dyersburg, Tennessee

|maint= Tennessee Department of Transportation

|id= 23I01550001

|design= Cantilever bridge

|mainspan= 920 feet (280 m) and 520 feet (158 m)

|length= 7,102 feet (2,165 m)

|width= 78 feet (24 m)

|clearance=

|below= 99 feet (30 m)

|traffic= 9,900

|open= December 1, 1976

|closed=

|toll=

|map_cue=

|map_image=

|map_text=

|map_width=

|coordinates= {{Coord|36|06|54|N|89|36|47|W|region:US_type:landmark}}

}}

The Caruthersville Bridge is a single tower cantilever bridge carrying Interstate 155 and U.S. Route 412 across the Mississippi River between Caruthersville, Missouri, and Dyersburg, Tennessee. Completed in 1976, it is the only bridge that connects Missouri and Tennessee, and the northernmost bridge on the Lower Mississippi River.{{cite news |author= |date=August 25, 2015 |title=Mississippi River bridge repair work to last another year |url=https://standard-democrat.com/story/2224754.html |work=Sikeston Standard Democrat |agency=SEMO News Service |access-date=July 3, 2024}} It stands downstream of the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge and upstream of the Hernando de Soto Bridge.

History

File:Caruthersville-bridge-construction.jpg

The bridge was first proposed in the early 1940s.{{cite news |last=Malone |first=Johnny |date=November 9, 1967 |title=1968 Start Seen For Mississippi Span |url=https://jacksonsun.newspapers.com/clip/78174094/1968-start-seen-for-mississippi-span/ |page=1, [https://jacksonsun.newspapers.com/clip/78171129/68-start-seen-for-span/ 20]|work=The Jackson Sun |location=Jackson, Tennessee |access-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} A committee was created by both state legislatures to study the possibility of constructing the bridge in 1949.{{cite news |author= |title=Browning Appoints Bridge Commission |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78169938/browning-appoints-bridge-commission/ |page=5 |work=The Nashville Tennessean |date=September 10, 1949 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} The site was chosen by the commission on November 18, 1952,{{cite news |author= |title=Bridge Commission Approves Site |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78174801/bridge-commission-approves-site/ |page=8 |work=The Jackson Sun |location=Jackson, Tennessee |date=November 18, 1952 |access-date=May 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} which was subsequently approved by the Army Corps of Engineers on August 20, 1953.{{cite news |author= |title=Engineers Approve Site Of Mississippi Bridge |url=https://tennessean.newspapers.com/clip/78169382/engineers-approve-site-of-mississippi/ |page=46 |work=The Nashville Tennessean |agency=Associated Press |date=August 21, 1953 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} Construction of the bridge began in March 1969.{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Chambers |date=November 30, 1976 |title=New Bridge Opens Wednesday |url=https://jacksonsun.newspapers.com/clip/78174931/new-bridge-opens-wednesday/ |page=1, [https://jacksonsun.newspapers.com/clip/78175294/new-bridge-opens-wednesday/ 5] |work=The Jackson Sun |location=Jackson, Tennessee |access-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} The bridge cost {{US$|25800000|1976}} and was opened on December 1, 1976, in a ceremony by Missouri Governor Kit Bond and Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton.{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Chambers |date=December 1, 1976 |title=Two States Joined As Bridge Opens |url=https://jacksonsun.newspapers.com/clip/78177463/two-states-joined-as-bridge-opens/ |page=1 |work=The Jackson Sun |location=Jackson, Tennessee |access-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Chambers |date=December 2, 1976 |title=Hoopla Marks Opening Of River's Newest Span |url=https://jacksonsun.newspapers.com/clip/78176855/hoopla-marks-opening-of-rivers-newest/ |page=1-A |work=The Jackson Sun |location=Jackson, Tennessee |access-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} It is the only bridge to cross the Mississippi River between Cairo, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee, though the Dorena-Hickman Ferry also crosses the Mississippi in this area. It is also the only bridge to connect the states of Missouri and Tennessee directly. Interstate 155 connects Dyersburg, Tennessee (and the proposed Interstate 69) with Interstate 55 near Caruthersville, Missouri and Hayti, Missouri. U.S. Route 412, when created in 1982, was routed across the bridge.