Skip to main content

Vicksburg Bridge (Vicksburg, MS)

Image
By

 

Located a few hundred feet downriver from the Old Vicksburg Bridge, the Vicksburg Bridge, or the “New” Bridge, serves as the city’s vehicular crossing of the Mississippi River on the main highway connecting Vicksburg with northeastern Louisiana to the west and the state capital of Jackson to the east.

The completion of the original Vicksburg Bridge in 1930 was seen as a huge success and the bridge proved to be a profitable entity for both road and railroad interests along the path of the Dixie Overland Highway and the subsequent US Highway 80 corridor. In the years after the creation of the National Interstate Highway System, planning commenced on a new bridge at the site that would relieve the congestion on the existing bridge while providing for a more modern crossing of the river that would be safe for all vehicles. The construction of the new bridge at Vicksburg was completed in 1973 and its design intentionally mimics that of its predecessor nearby. This was due in large part to the realities of the Mississippi River at this location. Due to the occasional presence of eddies and crosscurrents in the river in this area, it was realized during the planning of the bridge that the new structure needed to be placed parallel to the existing bridge with its piers also located in line with the existing structure so that barges and river traffic would not have to zig-zag or alter course while trying to pass beneath both bridges. As a result of the constraints of where the new bridge’s piers could be located, designers chose to essentially replicate the proportions and appearance of the old bridge, while building a wider roadway with modern-width travel lanes. (It should be noted however, that this bridge does lack emergency shoulders on the right, which is an unusual omission from an interstate highway bridge.)


This view of the two monstrous steel bridges on the Mississippi River at Vicksburg is available to visitors to the Mississippi Welcome Center located off of Exit 1A on Interstate 20. The Old Vicksburg Bridge is to the right, while the "new" Vicksburg Bridge is to the left.

Like its older neighbor just upriver, this new bridge is a lengthy steel truss bridge with multiple deck truss spans on each side of the main span. The longest span of the bridge is 870 ft and it has an overall length of about 2 ½ miles from abutment to abutment, due to a lengthy approach viaduct on the Louisiana side of the river that enables the roadway to span the river floodplain and levee to the west.

Built for high-speed traffic, this bridge has been part of Interstate 20 since its opening in 1973. I-20 is one of the major east-west freeway corridors for the American Deep South, stretching from western Texas to eastern South Carolina by way of Dallas, Shreveport, Jackson, Birmingham, and Atlanta. In 1998, the US Highway 80 designation was relocated to this bridge upon the closure of the Old Vicksburg Bridge to vehicle traffic. As it stands, the Vicksburg Bridge is the busiest bridge on the lower Mississippi River between Memphis and Baton Rouge and it serves a mix of local and long-distance traffic along one of America’s busiest interstate highway corridors.

The following pictures from my visits to the Vicksburg Bridge in February 2023 showcase various ground-level views of the bridge and its surroundings on the Mississippi River taken from multiple locations on the Mississippi side of the river. The aforementioned Mississippi Welcome Center is a great place to view this bridge. There is another fantastic viewing point a short distance south at a parking lot for a Waffle House. Click on each photo to see a larger version.


The following photos from my February 2023 visits to the Vicksburg Bridge showcase the eastbound crossing of the bridge from Louisiana to Mississippi. Click on each photo to see a larger version.

The following photos from my February 2023 visits to the Vicksburg Bridge showcase the westbound crossing of the bridge from Mississippi to Louisiana. Click on each photo to see a larger version.

The following aerial photos from my February 2023 visits to the Vicksburg Bridge showcase various views of the bridge and its surroundings along the Mississippi River. Take note of the nearby presence of the Old Vicksburg Bridge in these photos as well. Click on each photo to see a larger version.


Dashcam video of the eastbound drive over the Vicksburg Bridge was filmed in February 2023 for the 'roadwaywiz' YouTube channel and is available for viewing at the link below:

Dashcam video of the westbound drive over the Vicksburg Bridge was filmed in February 2023 for the 'roadwaywiz' YouTube channel and is available for viewing at the link below:

The Vicksburg Bridge was featured in the "Bridges of the Lower Mississippi River" webinar on the 'roadwaywiz' YouTube channel, beginning at the 1:08:00 mark:

How To Get There:


Further Reading:
Vicksburg Bridge by John Weeks
Vicksburg Bridge at historicbridges.org
Vicksburg's Mississippi River Bridges by Gribblenation

Bridges, Crossings, and Structures of the Lower Mississippi River
Next Crossing upriver: Old Vicksburg Bridge (Vicksburg, MS)
Next Crossing downriver: Natchez-Vidalia Bridge (Natchez, MS)
Visit the Mississippi River Bridges of Vicksburg Overview Page
Return to the Bridges of the Lower Mississippi River Home Page
__________________________________________________
Labels:
Location: Vicksburg, MS, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more