Meridian Highway Bridge

{{Infobox bridge

|bridge_name=Meridian Highway Bridge

|image=Meridian Bridge.jpg

|image_size=300px

|caption=Meridian Bridge as seen from Yankton trail.

|official_name=Meridian Highway Bridge

|crosses=Missouri River

|carries=pedestrians, previously 2 lanes of {{jct|country=USA|US|81}}

|locale=Yankton, South Dakota and Cedar County, Nebraska

|design=Vertical lift bridge double deck, Pratt through truss

|mainspan=1,668 feet

|length=3,013 feet

|width=33 feet

|below= feet

|maint=City of Yankton, South Dakota

|id=

|open=1924

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Meridian Bridge

| embed = yes

| nrhp_type =

| image =

| caption =

| nearest_city = South Yankton, Nebraska

| coordinates = {{coord|42|51|52.47|N|97|23|38.31|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Nebraska#USA

| architecture = Prat vertical-lift truss

| added = June 17, 1993

| area = {{convert|2.4|acre}}

| mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64500389|title=Highway Bridges in Nebraska MPS}}

| refnum = 93000537{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}

The Meridian Highway Bridge is a bridge that formerly carried U.S. Route 81 across the Missouri River between Nebraska and South Dakota. The Meridian Highway Bridge connects Yankton, South Dakota with rural Cedar County, Nebraska. The Meridian Bridge is a double-deck bridge, with the top level having carried traffic into South Dakota from Nebraska, and the lower level having carried traffic into Nebraska from South Dakota. It was closed to all traffic in 2008, but reopened for use only by pedestrians and bicycles in 2011.

History

The bridge crosses the Missouri River, connecting Yankton, South Dakota to the north with Cedar County, Nebraska to the south. Prior to the construction of the bridge, traffic moved between these two points via a ferry service, started in 1870, and a seasonal pontoon bridge, first installed in 1890. The pontoon bridge was disassembled and rebuilt twice a year, once to float on open water, and once to be placed on solid ice. After a 1915 initiative to build a permanent bridge faltered with the U.S. entrance into World War I, a new effort was started by the Yankton Chamber of Commerce 1919. Though fundraising problems caused a temporary halt in 1922, the new bridge, featuring a movable span to allow for river navigation, was completed during the summer of 1924.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=93000537}} |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Meridian Bridge|access-date=January 11, 2016|author1=Charlene K. Roise|author2=Jeffrey A. Hess|format=PDF|date=June 30, 1991|publisher=National Park Service}} {{NRHP url|id=93000537|title=Accompanying photo from 1990|photos=y}}.

The dedication ceremony was held on October 11, 1924, and the bridge opened as a toll bridge. It was the last link of the Meridian Highway, which became U.S. Route 81, to be completed. It was designed for use by trains on the lower level of the bridge and vehicular traffic on the upper level; a lift mechanism allowed river traffic to pass below. However, trains never used the lower level. In 1953, all tolls were lifted and the two levels were converted to one-way traffic: northbound on the top, southbound on the bottom.{{cite web|url=https://www.dm.net/~chris-g/sd61-100.html#US-81 |title=The South Dakota Highways Page: Highways 61 to 100. The upper deck for northbound traffic was terrifying for many people. Just a small guardrail and so high in the air. I saw a farmer-cattle hauler have his friend drive over the river and stop traffic so that he could cross on the lower level where you have steel girders on each side which give comfort and a sense of protection |publisher=Dm.net |date= |access-date=June 20, 2012}}

In the 1980s, the lift mechanism and counterweights were removed, and the decorative iron railings on the upper level were replaced by Jersey barricades.

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

On May 9, 2008, a 10-ton gross weight limit was placed on the bridge after an inspection found corrosion on the gusset plates. It was replaced by the Discovery Bridge upon its opening on October 11, 2008, exactly 84 years after the dedication of the Meridian Highway Bridge.{{cite web |url=https://www.sdtruckinfo.com/docs/5-9_MerdianBridge.doc |title=Weight restriction imposed on Meridian Bridge |date= |access-date=June 20, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://yanktonsd.org/yankton/meridianbridge/discoverybridge2.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226195449/https://yanktonsd.org/yankton/meridianbridge/discoverybridge2.php|archive-date=February 26, 2009 |title=City of Yankton, SD Discovery Bridge |publisher=Yanktonsd.org |date=May 29, 2012 |access-date=June 20, 2012}}

The bridge was used as location for filming a scene of the 2016 film Until Forever.{{cite web|last=DenOuden|first=Candy|title='Until Forever' opens Friday in Mitchell|date=February 25, 2016|publisher=Mitchell Daily Republic|url=https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/3956016-until-forever-opens-friday-mitchell|access-date=July 10, 2019}}

Present and future use

With completion of the Discovery Bridge, the Meridian Bridge has been converted into a pedestrian/bike trail.{{cite web |url=http://www.nebraskatransportation.org/projects/yankton/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624105807/http://www.nebraskatransportation.org/projects/yankton/index.htm |archive-date=June 24, 2008 |title=Nebraska Department of Roads |publisher=NebraskaTransportation.org |date=June 24, 2008 |access-date=June 20, 2012}} The bridge reopened in November 2011 to non-motorized traffic only. A two-block-long pedestrian plaza has been added.{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofyankton.org/yankton/meridianbridge/presentation-9-17-2007.pdf |title=Meridian Bridge Plaza and Other Downtown Improvements |access-date=June 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609113556/http://www.cityofyankton.org/yankton/meridianbridge/presentation-9-17-2007.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2011 }}

The bridge spans the Missouri National Recreational River, a unit of the National Park Service created under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline|Meridian Bridge (Nebraska-South Dakota)}}
[https://home.nps.gov/mnrr/learn/historyculture/meridianbridge.htm Meridian Bridge - Missouri National Recreational River]
[https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/nediv/bridges/cedar.cfm Historic Bridges of Nebraska - Meridian Bridge]
[https://www.nps.gov/mnrr/index.htm Missouri National Recreational River]
[http://www.cityofyankton.org/departments-services/meridian-bridge City of Yankton, South Dakota]

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Missouri River

|bridge = Meridian Highway Bridge

|bridge signs = Pedestrians

|upstream = Discovery Bridge

|upstream signs = 20px

|downstream = Vermillion–Newcastle Bridge

|downstream signs = 20px 20px

}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1924

Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska