The B. B. Comer Bridge, was a two-lane, long,

Warren truss Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Governm ...

bridge spanning the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

along

Alabama State Route 35 State Route 35 (SR 35) is a state highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. The southern terminus of the highway is at its intersection with SR 9 in rural Cherokee County northeast of Cedar Bluff and near the ...

Scottsboro, Alabama Scottsboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Alabama, United States. The city was named for its founder Robert T. Scott. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 14,770. From its incorporation in 1870 until 1890, ...

. The bridge was named after Alabama governor Braxton Bragg Comer, who served from 1907 to 1911. Construction of the bridge was carried out by the Kansas City Bridge Company for the Alabama State Bridge Corporation. Its construction commenced in 1929 and was complete by 1931. As of 2013, this was the only remaining bridge of the 15 memorial

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...

s constructed by the Alabama State Bridge Corporation. By 2007, the aging structure was classified by the

Alabama Department of Transportation The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is the government agency responsible for transportation infrastructure in Alabama. The Department is organized into five geographic regions, with a Central Office located in Montgomery, AL Montg ...

as being a structurally deficient bridge with an overall rating of 7.7 out of 100. Construction of a replacement bridge commenced in October 2007, and is expected to be completed in late 2015. As of April 2016, the replacement is several months away from completion. The Comer Bridge was scheduled to be demolished in 2015 although preservation efforts are underway and th
Comer Bridge Foundation
has been organized. In April 2013, the bridge was named one of the top ten "Top Rated Unique Savable Structures" by BridgeHunter.com. On October 31, 2013, the B. B. Comer Bridge was added to the

Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These properties ...

. On April 29, 2016, the bridge closed to all traffic with the opening of the new bridge. Crews began removing the road deck immediately after closure. Demolition of the original span began June, 2016 and was completed in July. A pyramid shaped sculpture built from the steel of the north entrance of the bridge was installed at Scottsboro High School in May 2018 as a monument to the bridge.

References

Bridges completed in 1931 Road bridges in Alabama Bridges over the Tennessee River Transportation buildings and structures in Jackson County, Alabama Former toll bridges in Alabama Steel bridges in the United States Warren truss bridges in the United States {{Alabama-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References