Greenville Bridge
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The Greenville Bridge, or the Jesse Brent Memorial Bridge, is a
cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...
over 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 ...
, 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 ...
, carrying
US 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...
and
US 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a parallel route of U.S. Route 78, US 78. It currently runs for from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Wickes, Arkansas at U.S. Route 71, US 71/U.S. Route 59, US 59, passing through five states in the ...
between
Refuge, Mississippi Refuge is an unincorporated community located in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. Refuge Landing was located west of the settlement, directly on the Mississippi River. History Francis Griffin purchased land in 1831 on a high ridge b ...
, and
Shives, Arkansas Shives (also Shrives) is an unincorporated community in Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. Shives is located on the southeast shore of Lake Chicot, approximately west of the Mississippi River. U.S. Route 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a p ...
. When it opened in 2010, it was the fourth-longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. The Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge, the first bridge to connect the two towns, had become functionally obsolete. Its narrow road had only two lanes with no
shoulders The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...
. Because of its location near a sharp bend in the Mississippi River, the bridge had become a hazard to river traffic;
barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s and
towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squar ...
s frequently collided with it. In 1994, a study concluded that a new bridge was needed and the old one should be torn down. Construction was begun in 2001 and the new bridge opened in 2010. In 2011, the process of removing the old bridge began.


Description

Opened in 2010, the Greenville Bridge carries US 82/278 over 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
Refuge, Mississippi Refuge is an unincorporated community located in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. Refuge Landing was located west of the settlement, directly on the Mississippi River. History Francis Griffin purchased land in 1831 on a high ridge b ...
and
Shives, Arkansas Shives (also Shrives) is an unincorporated community in Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. Shives is located on the southeast shore of Lake Chicot, approximately west of the Mississippi River. U.S. Route 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a p ...
. It is located down river from the original bridge, built in 1940. Designed by HNTB, it is a four-lane
cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...
with more than of
bridge deck A deck is the surface of a bridge. A structural element of its superstructure, it may be constructed of concrete, steel, open grating, or wood. Sometimes the deck is covered by a railroad bed and track, asphalt concrete, or other form of ...
straddled by two concrete
towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...
feet high and anchored by concrete
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
planted below the riverbed. It has four fans of strand steel cable connected to the top of the towers which support the deck. Each of the bridge's four lanes is wide. The outside shoulders are wide and the inside shoulder width is . The bridge has a main span of . At the time of its opening, it was the fourth-longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. Both the old and new bridges are geographically mostly in Arkansas, as the state lines were determined prior to the shift west of the Mississippi River.


History

The first Greenville Bridge was built by the company now known as HNTB and opened to much fanfare in 1940 as the "pathway to progress" for the
Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...
. It was a
through-truss 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 (mechanics), tensi ...
design and had a span of . Until 1943, this was the longest bridge for vehicles on the Mississippi River. Over time, the bridge supported increasing volumes of highway traffic and vehicles hitting the bridge. In the 1950s, an
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
plane crashed into the bridge. Though the bridge remained structurally sound, it was becoming functionally obsolete. It had only two narrow highway lanes and no
shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...
s. An accident or the crossing of very large vehicles such as a large combine could force the bridge to close. With river traffic increasing, damage from
barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
collisions increased. By 1972, the Greenville Bridge was hit more times by barges than any other bridge on the Mississippi. The bridge was located close to a sharp bend in the Mississippi;
towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squar ...
s and barges had difficulty making the sharp turn and regaining their course in time to avoid a collision with the bridge. Over the years, many have not been able to make the turn quickly and have hit it. The bridge had become a danger to river traffic. A 1994 engineering study by the
Mississippi Department of Transportation The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Mississippi. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in sup ...
explored alternatives to upgrading the crossing of US 82 and issued a report that explored a four-lane crossing at Greenville. It concluded the best of several alternatives it identified was to build a new bridge downriver from the old one and to remove the old bridge. Additional studies evaluated the type of bridge to build, and by 1995 the cable-stayed bridge was chosen as the best design to fit the river and soil conditions, as well as providing sufficient clearance for river navigation. Engineering plans were completed in 1999.


Construction

HNTB, of
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, was the designer and consulting engineer for both the new bridge as well as the original Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge. The federal government provided $110 million to begin building the main part of the bridge consisting long spans supported by cables. The main superstructure construction began in December 2001. Massman Construction Company in a joint venture with Traylor Brothers, Inc. received the contract to construct two large
pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
s in the river; these were built using both floating caissons and open caisson construction. The construction on the last main span section of the bridge was finished in April 2006. Building the approaches, including shorter spans of approach bridge work and structural support systems for the bridge, was the responsibility of each state. For both states, the approach bridges are constructed of a series of three span units, each unit long. Construction of Arkansas' approach of highway and bridge, costing $66 million, began in March 2006; Mississippi began its approach in April 2006, costing almost $86 million. Hill Brothers Construction and Jensen Construction, in a joint venture with the Rasmussen Group, were awarded the contract for the eastern approach of US 82 in Greenville to the Mississippi River crossing. Hills Brothers Construction was awarded an $85.9 million contract to work on the road deck of the Mississippi approach to the bridge, the concrete footings, and the substructure and superstructure of that portion. Austin Bridge and Road was awarded a $65 million contract to build Arkansas's of approach bridge and of connecting roadway which was completed in August 2009. The remaining contract, to apply a latex surface to the bridge, add stripes, tie US 82 into the approaches and dismantle the Humphreys Bridge, was awarded in January 2010. It took sixteen years from the initial developing stage begun in 1994, until the Greenville Bridge opened to traffic on August 4, 2010. The entire cost of the bridge totaled $336 million. In 2011, the massive process of removing the old bridge by cutting it into small sections to be recycled was begun and was expected to be completed by September 2012. At times, the river has been closed to traffic to aid the demolition. The job was dangerous and at least two workers died during the demolition.


See also

* * * * *
List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Lower Mississippi River from the Ohio River downstream to the Gulf of Mexico. Locations are listed with the left bank (moving downriver) listed first. Crossings See also *List of crossings ...
*
Charles W. Dean Bridge The Charles W. Dean Bridge, known before 1999 as the Great River Bridge, is a planned cable-stayed bridge to carry Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 278 across the Mississippi River between Arkansas City, Arkansas and Benoit, Mississippi. The Arka ...


References


External links


Greenville BridgeJensen ConstructionHNTB Corp.Massman Construction Co.Traylor Bros., Inc.News report video on bridge opening
* https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2015/title-65/chapter-3/special-designations-of-portions-of-highway-system-and-bridges/section-65-3-71206 {{Good article Transportation in Chicot County, Arkansas Buildings and structures in Chicot County, Arkansas Buildings and structures in Washington County, Mississippi Road bridges in Arkansas Road bridges in Mississippi Towers in Arkansas Bridges over the Mississippi River Cable-stayed bridges in the United States U.S. Route 82 U.S. Route 278 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Great River Road Bridges completed in 2010 2010 establishments in Arkansas 2010 establishments in Mississippi Steel bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States Transportation in Washington County, Mississippi Towers in Mississippi