South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge

Last updated
South Omaha Bridge
South-omaha-bridge.jpg
The old, now-demolished bridge
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationUS 275.svg US 275 , Council Bluffs, Iowa / Omaha, Nebraska
Coordinates 41°12′46.64″N95°55′56.87″W / 41.2129556°N 95.9324639°W / 41.2129556; -95.9324639 Coordinates: 41°12′46.64″N95°55′56.87″W / 41.2129556°N 95.9324639°W / 41.2129556; -95.9324639
Built1935 [1]
ArchitectAsh, Howard, Needles, & Tammen; Kansas City Bridge Co.
MPS Highway Bridges in Nebraska MPS
NRHP reference No. 92000742 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 29, 1992
Removed from NRHPJuly 14, 2011 [3]

The South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge (originally the South Omaha Bridge but renamed the Veterans Memorial Bridge in 1995) was a continuous warren through truss bridge over the Missouri River connecting Omaha, Nebraska with Council Bluffs, Iowa via U.S. Highway 275.

Contents

The new South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge from south on Nebraska side. New South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge.JPG
The new South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge from south on Nebraska side.

Omaha floated a $2 million bond issue for the bridge in 1931. However, when the bonds did not sell, the Omaha Bridge Commission was formed to secure financing from the Public Works Administration. The initial design by the Kansas City architects Ash, Howard, Needles and Tammen called for the bridge to have seven spans. However, when the War Department announced plans to reroute the river channel, the design was changed to two 525-foot (160 m), continuously supported, Warren through spans and a series of Warren deck truss approach spans.

It was built by the Kansas City Bridge Company opening on January 18, 1936. It is 22.2 feet (6.8 m) wide and 2,126 feet (648 m) long. The piers were initially on dry land, since the river had not been rerouted. Tolls on the bridge were discontinued on September 25, 1947.

The original bridge's demolition in progress South Omaha Bridge.jpg
The original bridge's demolition in progress

The bridge provided a much-needed direct route across the Missouri River to the Omaha Stockyards for livestock delivery trucks. Before the South Omaha Bridge was built trucks had to cross the Douglas Street Bridge and drive through downtown Omaha to reach the packinghouse district. Although listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, the bridge was torn down so a new four-lane girder bridge could be constructed with a target opening date in 2010. The old bridge was 4,378 feet (1,334 m) long and provided a clear roadway width of only 22 feet 6 inches (6.86 m). In November 2006 Nebraska placed a 5-ton vehicle limit on the bridge. On June 11, 2008, an additional height restriction requiring vehicles to be under 8 feet (2.4 m) was imposed. [4] On September 8, 2009, at 9 am CDT, the bridge closed so that the new bridge's construction could continue. [5] The original bridge was completely demolished by March 2010 and removed from the NRHP in 2011.

The new bridge opened May 28, 2010. It provides for four 12-foot-wide thru lanes (3.7 m) and a 4-foot-wide raised median (1.2 m) with 10-foot-wide shoulders (3.0 m) and a 10-foot-wide bike trail (3.0 m). The new bridge is 4,300 feet (1,300 m) long and 87 feet 8 inches (26.72 m) wide.

See also

Related Research Articles

Memphis & Arkansas Bridge

The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, also known as the Memphis–Arkansas Bridge or Memphis–Arkansas Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying Interstate 55 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. Memphians refer to this bridge as the "Old Bridge" to distinguish it from the "New Bridge", or Hernando de Soto Bridge, upstream.

Rulo Bridge United States historic place

The Rulo Bridge was a truss bridge over the Missouri River on U.S. Route 159 (US 159) from the village of Rulo in Richardson County, Nebraska, to Holt County, Missouri, west of Big Lake.

Brownville Bridge United States historic place

The Brownville Bridge is a truss bridge over the Missouri River on U.S. Route 136 (US 136) from Nemaha County, Nebraska, to Atchison County, Missouri, at Brownville, Nebraska.

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.

The Kansas City Bridge Company was a bridge building company that built many bridges throughout the Midwest United States in the early 1900s. The company was founded in 1893 and ceased business around 1960.

Plattsmouth Bridge

The Plattsmouth Bridge is a truss bridge over the Missouri River connecting Cass County, Nebraska, and Mills County, Iowa at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Until 2014, it carried U.S. Highway 34 across the river.

Nebraska Highway 92 State highway in Nebraska, United States

Nebraska Highway 92 is a highway that enters the state from Nebraska's western border at the Wyoming state line west of Lyman, Nebraska, to the state's eastern border on the South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Missouri River in Omaha, where it enters Iowa. Nebraska Highway 92 passes, follows, or runs through a number of the state's principal attractions, including Scotts Bluff National Monument, the Oregon Trail, Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Ash Hollow State Historical Park, Lake McConaughy, the Nebraska Sand Hills, and the City of Omaha. Nebraska Highway 92 is the longest state route in the state at a total of 489.1 miles (787.1 km), and is part of a continuous 886-mile (1,426 km) four-state "Highway 92" which begins in Torrington, Wyoming, goes through Nebraska and Iowa and ends in La Moille, Illinois. It is the only Nebraska Highway to run from the west border to the east border of Nebraska; along the way it crosses the Platte River or its tributary North Platte River a total of five times.

Lisco State Aid Bridge United States historic place

The Lisco State Aid Bridge is located on a county road over the North Platte River south of Lisco, Nebraska. Completed in 1928, the bridge today "is distinguished as an important crossing of the Platte River and one of the last two intact multiple-span state aid truss bridges" in Nebraska.

Blair Bridge (U.S. Route 30)

The Blair Bridge or Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge carries U.S. Route 30 between the U.S. states of Nebraska and Iowa, across the Missouri River near Blair, Nebraska. Rail traffic crosses via the parallel Blair Bridge.

Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge

The Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge is a through arch bridge which carries U.S. Route 77 across the Missouri River between Sioux City, Iowa, and South Sioux City, Nebraska.

Gibson Bend of the Missouri River is a meander located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa and Douglas County, Nebraska, located at 41°11′15″N95°55′15″W. The Gibson neighborhood is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska abutting the Gibson Bend.

Illinois Central Missouri River Bridge

The Illinois Central Missouri River Bridge, also known as the IC Bridge or the East Omaha Bridge, is a rail through truss double swing bridge across the Missouri River connecting Council Bluffs, Iowa, with Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by the Canadian National Railway and is closed to all traffic. At 521 feet long, the second version of the bridge was the longest swing bridge in the world from when it was completed in 1903 through 1915. In 1975 it was regarded as the third longest swing bridge.

2011 Missouri River Flood

The 2011 Missouri River floods was a flooding event on the Missouri River in the United States. The flooding was triggered by record snowfall in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming along with near-record spring rainfall in central and eastern Montana. All six major dams along the Missouri River released record amounts of water to prevent overflow which led to flooding threatening several towns and cities along the river from Montana to Missouri; in particular Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Saint Joseph, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Jefferson City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. Many smaller towns were also at risk, suffering the same fate as the larger cities if not worse. According to the National Weather Service, in the second half of the month of May 2011, almost a year's worth of rain fell over the upper Missouri River basin. Extremely heavy rainfall in conjunction with an estimated 212 percent of normal snowpack in the Rocky Mountains contributed to this flooding event.

Jefferson Street Viaduct United States historic place

The Jefferson Street Viaduct is an historic structure located in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. The riveted Warren deck truss bridge was completed in 1936. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as a part of the Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS.

AJX Bridge over South Fork and Powder River United States historic place

The AJX Bridge is a historic Pratt truss bridge in southwestern Johnson County, Wyoming. The bridge was built in 1931 across the South Fork of the Powder River near Kaycee, Wyoming. AJX Bridge was built to provide a river crossing for U.S. Route 87. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as part of a Multiple Property Submission devoted to historic bridges in Wyoming.

US 62 Bridge over Crooked Creek United States historic place

The US 62 Bridge over Crooked Creek is a historic bridge near Pyatt, Arkansas. It carries US Highway 62 (US 62) and US 412 across Crooked Creek, which flows through the center of Pyatt to the northwest.

Klondike Bridge United States historic place

The Klondike Bridge is located southwest of Larchwood, Iowa, United States. The 260-foot (79 m) span carried traffic on 180th Street over the Big Sioux River. The bridge was first constructed at this point in 1901, but it proved inadequate to handle the traffic that followed, so in 1913 Lyon County hired the Western Bridge and Omaha Construction Company to create the Klondike. The Iowa Legislature passed the Brockway Act that required counties to use Iowa State Highway Commission (ISHC) standards for bridge construction rather than the counties acting on their own in 1913. The ISHC spent the next year standardizing plans. It is in this transition period that the Lyon County Board of Supervisors decided to replace an outdated 1901 span at this location. They contracted with the Western Bridge and Construction Company of Omaha, Nebraska to build this bridge. They used a Pratt through truss of their own design for the main span. It was flanked by two Warren pony trusses from the ISHC. In 1914, the structure was completed for $11,586.11. The historical nature of this bridge is derived from its construction in the transition period, and its use of standard and non-standard bridge designs. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The span has subsequently been abandoned.

Hale Bridge United States historic place

Hale Bridge is a historic structure located south of Anamosa, Iowa, United States. It spans the Wapsipinicon River for 296 feet (90 m). In April 1877 the Jones County Board of Supervisors contracted with the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Co. of Cleveland to provide iron bridges to the county for the next year. Pile driving for this bridge's substructure got underway soon after, and the piers were completed by early fall. King provided a 100-foot (30 m) Bowstring through arch-truss and a shorter pony arch in the winter of 1878. The bridge's configuration was changed the following spring and the county ordered another pony truss to replace the original timber approach. The bridge was completed in June 1879, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The Hale Bridge remained in its original location near the unincorporated community of Hale until 2006 when it was moved upriver to Wapsipinicon State Park south of Anamosa.

Oakland Mills Bridge United States historic place

The Oakland Mills Bridge is a historic structure located in Oakland Mills Park southwest of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. The span carried Hickory Road over the Skunk River for 358 feet (109 m). In July 1876 the Henry County Board of Supervisors decided to locate the bridge over the Skunk River at Oakland Mills. After engineers looked over the proposals, they choose the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company of Leavenworth, Kansas to build the structure. The long-span combination Pratt truss through and pony truss was completed later the same year. The steel components where manufactured by the Phoenix Iron Company of Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest Pratt through truss bridges in Iowa. Long closed to vehicular traffic, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

North Loup Bridge United States historic place

The North Loup Bridge brings a county road over the North Loup River, about 1.5 miles northeast of the village of North Loup in Valley County, Nebraska. It was built in 1912-1913 by Empire Bridge Company of Omaha, Nebraska, at cost of $13,089, using steel parts fabricated by Cambria Steel Company and Lackawanna Steel Company. It is a Pratt through truss bridge and includes three 100 feet (30 m) through truss spans upon steel cylinder piers. There is also a 40 feet (12 m) pony truss approach span on the south side.

References

  1. "South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge". Structurae.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. National Park Service, "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 7/11/11 through 7/15/11". Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  4. "Height limit imposed on Veterans Bridge". Omaha World-Herald. 2007-06-07.
  5. "Memorial Bridge's final day coming". Omaha World-Herald. 2009-08-26.