The Mormon Bridge is a bridge composed of two
cantilevers
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 canti ...
that crosses the
Missouri River connecting
Pottawattamie County, Iowa
Pottawattamie County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. At the 2020 census, the population was 93,667, making it the tenth-most populous county in Iowa. The county takes its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe. The cou ...
with the
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
neighborhood of
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
via
Interstate 680 (Iowa-Nebraska) Interstate 680 may refer to:
*Interstate 680 (California), a connecting freeway between I-80 and I-280 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California
*Interstate 680 (Nebraska–Iowa), a bypass in Omaha, Nebraska
*Interstate 680 (Ohio), a loop through Y ...
. The bridge is officially called the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge due to its location on the historic
Mormon Trail, which passed nearby.
History
The earliest consistent crossing of the Missouri River at the current bridge's location dates back to 1846, when the Mormons operated a ferry at this location as a component of the Mormon Trail.
Ferries continued to be operated sporadically at this location over the course of the next decade,
however, the section of the Missouri was considered ideal for a bridge due to the riverbed being rock.
According to the program from the opening ceremonies, the first attempt to bridge the Missouri was made in 1856.
This attempt, by the Florence Bridge Company,
obtained Congressional approval, but was not completed due to funding constraints. In 1872, the site was considered by Union Pacific prior to their construction of the
Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge
The Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge is a rail truss bridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska.
History
When the first railroad bridge on the site opened on March 27, 1872, it connected the First tr ...
and in 1885, construction actually began on a
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway bridge before being abandoned.
Attempts to build a bridge were also made in 1922 and 1936, however, it was not until the 1950s that a bridge was finally completed. Previous attempts had required a specific franchise from the United States Congress to cross a
navigable waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
. In 1946, Congress passed the
General Bridges Act, which allowed for "construction, maintenance, and operation of bridges and approaches thereto over the navigable waters of the United States" by public bodies
and repealed provisions of the
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 is the oldest federal environmental law in the United States. The Act makes it a misdemeanor to discharge refuse matter of any kind into the navigable waters, or tributaries thereof, of the United ...
. This allowed the State of Nebraska to pass legislation creating the North Omaha Bridge Commission and put the wheels in motion for the successful establishment of a permanent river crossing.
The first bridge was dedicated on June 1, 1953, following a groundbreaking in May 1951.
It connected
Nebraska Highway 36 with unsigned
Iowa Highway 988. It was originally a
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 ...
operated by the North Omaha Bridge Commission in order to pay off the $3.45 million
in
bonds issued to finance construction.
Spencer W. Kimball, President of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
(LDS Church), was the last to pay the toll on April 21, 1979, when the second bridge to the north of the original bridge was added, and it became part of the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
.
In 2018, the original bridge underwent an $11 million refurbishment that involved lead paint remediation, repairs to the bridge deck, and a new asphalt driving surface.
See also
*
*
*
*
List of crossings of the Missouri River
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Missouri River from the Mississippi River upstream to its source(s).
Crossings
See also
* List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
* List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi Ri ...
*
History of North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha, Nebraska has a recorded history spanning over 200 years, pre-dating the rest of Omaha, encompassing wildcat banks, ethnic enclaves, race riots and social change. North Omaha has roots back to 1812 and the founding of Fort Lisa. It ...
*
Timeline of North Omaha, Nebraska history
*
List of Omaha landmarks
References
External links
"A History of the Mormon Bridge in North Omaha"by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com
UNL page
{{Florence
North Omaha, Nebraska
Truss bridges in the United States
Bridges in Omaha, Nebraska
Road bridges in Nebraska
Bridges in Pottawattamie County, Iowa
Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska
Bridges over the Missouri River
Bridges completed in 1952
Bridges completed in 1979
Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
Latter Day Saint movement in Iowa
Latter Day Saint movement in Nebraska
Road bridges in Iowa
Former toll bridges in Iowa
Former toll bridges in Nebraska
Interstate 80
Cantilever bridges in the United States
Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States