The Wabash Memorial Bridge (''Wabash Memorial Toll Bridge'' in INDOT documents) carries vehicular traffic across the Wabash River between Indiana State Road 62 and Illinois Route 141. The , two-lane bridge is located in both Posey County, Indiana, and

White County, Illinois White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,877. Its county seat is Carmi. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as " Little Egypt". H ...

. The bridge is operated by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The bridge was built in 1956 and has an estimated life of 75 years. It is the southernmost span connecting Illinois and Indiana, with the next bridge to the north located 20 miles north in New Harmony, Indiana, but the next drivable bridge is on Interstate 64, located about 35 miles to the north, near

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. Effective January 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014, INDOT adopted an electronic toll collection system for the bridge, with users being required to obtain a transponder in order to legally use the bridge.Wabash Memorial Toll Bridge Frequently Asked Questions
accessed May 23, 2013 The automated toll collection system, called ''Wabash Pass'', cost $900,000. Tolls were 50 cents for cars, 30 cents for motorcycles or bicycles, and $1.70 for six-axle trucks. The last toll increase was in 1984. Customers pre-paid their tolls on-line or over the telephone using an e-check,

debit card A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...

or credit card. Each driver had to have a windshield decal that contained a transponder circuit associated with the driver's account. Over 7,000 of the ISO 18000 6C sticker tag transponders from

Federal Signal Federal Signal Corporation is an American manufacturer headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Federal Signal manufactures street sweeper vehicles, public address systems, emergency vehicle equipment, and emergency vehicle lighting. The co ...

/Sirit were issued. Effective July 1, 2014, the State of Indiana discontinued tolls on the Wabash Memorial Bridge. Other than the Indiana Toll Road, it was the last state-owned toll bridge with tolls collected in Indiana (the one other toll bridge, the New Harmony Toll Bridge, was closed to automobile traffic on May 21, 2012). The bridge has an average daily traffic of 4,000 vehicles. The Cannonball Bridge across the Wabash River at

St. Francisville, Illinois St. Francisville or Saint Francisville is a city in Lawrence County, Illinois, United States. The population was 697 at the 2010 census. History St. Francisville is rooted in a stockade built by Joseph Tougas in the early 1810s. The city was pl ...

, a different bridge about 60 miles upstream, continues to collect tolls. In a $1.67 million resurfacing of the bridge, the contractors used hydrojet demolition instead of jackhammering to remove a layer of the existing concrete surface. As a result, the project was completed in four months. The bridge remained open to one lane of traffic throughout the construction.

External links

Official website

References

{{Reflist Road bridges in Illinois Buildings and structures in White County, Illinois Transportation buildings and structures in Posey County, Indiana Road bridges in Indiana Wabash River Former toll bridges in Illinois Former toll bridges in Indiana Cantilever bridges in the United States