Skip to main content

The Mississippi River Bridges of Vicksburg, MS: An Introduction

Welcome to the gateway page for Gribblenation’s series on the bridges of the lower Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MS! Here you will find links to information about the two bridges that span the river at the historic city of Vicksburg. The bridges of Vicksburg were constructed during the period between the early automobile era of the 1920s and the height of the modern interstate highway era of the 1970s. Each has a unique story to tell and they play a vital part in the transportation system of the Mississippi Delta region.

Cover Photo: From left to right, the Vicksburg Bridge (1973) and the Old Vicksburg Bridge (1930) combine to create one of the most impressive bridge-related visuals on the lower Mississippi River.

Old Vicksburg Bridge
The Old Vicksburg Bridge was built in 1930 and was among the first railroad bridges built across the lower Mississippi River. It's unique deck design enabled both road and rail traffic to share deck space adjacent to one another through the steel cantilever truss superstructure.


Old Vicksburg Bridge (1930)

Vicksburg Bridge
The Vicksburg Bridge was built immediately downriver in 1973 and is part of Interstate 20 and US Highway 80, the latter relocating off it's long standing alignment on the "old" bridge to the more modern "new" bridge.


Vicksburg Bridge (1973)

Links to Gribblenation Articles:

Old Vicksburg Bridge (1930)

Vicksburg Bridge (1973)

Vicksburg's Mississippi River Bridges

How To Get There:


Bridges, Crossings, and Structures of the Lower Mississippi River
Return to the Bridges of the Lower Mississippi River Home Page
__________________________________________________

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

  Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...