Etowah Memorial Bridge - Gadsden, Alabama

Open-spandrel concrete arch bridges are beautiful sights that date back to an earlier era of bridge building. A commonly-used bridge-building style during the early 20th century, many of these bridges are nearly a century old and are gradually disappearing.

The many open-spandrel arches of the Etowah Memorial Bridge.

However, in Gadsden, Alabama - a nearly 100-year-old bridge of this grand style is a stoic piece of the city's fabric. Opened in 1927, this 1,094-foot-long bridge spans the Coosa River as a tribute to Etowah County citizens that served in the First World War.

The Coosa Riverwalk leads you directly to the Etowah Memorial Bridge.

Construction of the bridge began in 1925 - the same year East Gadsden was annexed as part of the city. The new bridge cost $400,000 to construct - and carries Broad Street over the river.

The Riverwalk allows you to get up close and personal with the bridge.

The Etowah Memorial Bridge is a focal point of Gadsden's new Riverwalk at Coosa Landing. Here a multi-use path runs underneath the bridge and along the Coosa River. The Riverwalk includes boat landings, opportunities to fish or bird watch, plus connects to other riverfront attractions.

All photos taken by post author - March 16, 2023.

Sources & Links:

Etowah Memorial Bridge ---Greater Gadsden Area Tourism
Bridge a memorial to war heroes ---The Gadsden Times
Etowah Memorial Bridge ---My Personal Flickr Set

How To Get There:

Comments

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...

Abandoned Fowler Avenue in Clovis, California

Originally Fowler Avenue in the city of Clovis had a brief discontinuation approaching Herndon Avenue. Fowler Avenue traffic heading northbound was required to detour briefly onto westbound Herndon Avenue. During 2001 this discontinuation was removed when Fowler Avenue was reconfigured to access the Sierra Freeway (California State Route 168) via an interchange. This led to a segment of the original alignment of Fowler Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue to be abandoned. Despite a shopping center opening over part of the original Fowler Avenue alignment in 2016 much of the abandoned roadway remains. The history of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue in Clovis The original alignment of California State Route 168 departed downtown Clovis eastbound along Tollhouse Road. This original alignment did not interact with Fowler Avenue at the Herndon Avenue intersection. Fowler Avenue north of Tollhouse Road ran north to Herndon Avenue...

Campus Parkway (Merced, California)

Campus Parkway is a 4.5-mile expressway corridor located in and around the city of Merced. Campus Parkway spans from California State Route 99 to Yosemite Avenue and is part of the larger conceptual Campus Loop corridor. The Campus Loop in full scale a series of planned roadways which if built will encircle Merced with an expressway grade beltway and permit easier access to the University of California-Merced campus. Campus Parkway was completed in three phases in 2009, 2020 and 2022. Part 1; the history of Campus Parkway The purpose of Campus Parkway is to enhance access to the campus of University of California-Merced (UC-Merced). In full scale the corridor begins at California State Route 99 Exit 185 and extends 4.5 miles northward as a four-lane expressway to Yosemite Avenue. The Campus Parkway corridor can be seen in contrast to the rest of the larger proposed Campus Loop which also includes Atwater-Merced Expressway. Currently access to t...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog