The Frisco Bridge, previously known as the Memphis Bridge, is a

cantilevered A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

through

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

Bridge Hunter Historic Bridge Page
/ref> carrying a rail line across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

between

West Memphis, Arkansas West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is ...

, and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Construction

At the time of the Memphis bridge construction, it was a significant technological challenge and is considered to be chief engineer George S. Morison's crowning achievement. No other bridges had ever been attempted on the

Lower Mississippi River The Lower Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River downstream of Cairo, Illinois. From the confluence of the Ohio River and Upper Mississippi River at Cairo, the Lower flows just under 1000 miles (1600 km) to the Gulf of ...

. The bridge is built entirely of open-hearth steel, a newly developed material at the time of construction. The structure features a main span and two additional spans. Its height above the water was the highest clearance of any U.S. bridge of that era. The construction of the piers went nearly below the water's surface. Though some sources claim two cantilevered roadways were added to the bridge in the 1930s, one on each side,American Society of Civil Engineers: Morison's Memphis Bridge
/ref> they probably confuse this bridge with the neighboring

Harahan Bridge The Harahan Bridge is a cantilevered through truss bridge that carries two rail lines and a pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The bridge is owned and operated by Union Pacific ...

, which had two cantilevered roadways from 1917 until the

Memphis & Arkansas Bridge The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, also known as the Memphis–Arkansas Bridge or inaccurately as the Memphis–Arkansas Memorial Bridge, is a Cantilever bridge, cantilevered through truss bridge carrying Interstate 55 across the Mississippi River b ...

opened in 1949. (The former roadway on the north side of the Harahan Bridge is now designated as Big River Crossing, having been refitted to carry pedestrian and bicycle traffic across the Mississippi River in 2016.) While the Frisco Bridge has not featured cantilevered roadways, pedestrians, buggies, and some automobiles used its main deck before the Harahan Bridge opened (the bridge was closed to such traffic while a train was crossing). Construction for the

Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railway Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the we ...

, later acquired by the " Frisco," began in 1888 and was completed May 12, 1892. In the end the project created a bridge that was the farthest south on the Mississippi River, featured the longest truss span in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and cost nearly 3 million dollars. A testament to its design and construction, the bridge is still used by

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

and is being renovated as part of a system-wide BNSF infrastructure improvement program. The west approach to the bridge, which was made of 52 spans totaling in length, was replaced by a new 27-span bridge. This project was completed in 2017. The bridge was designated as a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...

in 1987.

References

External links

* * *, discusses Chief Engineer George S. Morison and his many bridges, including nearly 50 pages about the Memphis Bridge (Frisco Bridge).
The Memphis Railroad BridgesRecent Photos of the Frisco Bridge
{{Memphis, Tennessee Truss bridges in the United States Railroad bridges in Arkansas Railroad bridges in Tennessee Bridges over the Mississippi River Bridges in Memphis, Tennessee Bridges completed in 1892 BNSF Railway bridges St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Transportation in Crittenden County, Arkansas Buildings and structures in West Memphis, Arkansas Steel bridges in the United States Cantilever bridges in the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Arkansas Historic American Engineering Record in Tennessee Interstate railroad bridges in the United States 1892 establishments in Arkansas 1892 establishments in Tennessee

Construction

See also

References

External links