Harahan Bridge, Memphis, TN

35.129167,-90.075833

This narrow point on the Mississippi River near Memphis, TN features three lovely crossings: The Frisco Bridge (1892), the Harahan Bridge (1916), and the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge (1949).

The Harahan Bridge is a cantilevered through truss bridge constructed by the Arkansas & Memphis Railway Bridge & Terminal Company under the supervision of famed consulting engineer Ralph Modjeski. Its total length of 4,973 feet includes an asymmetric collection of cantilevered, suspended, semi-suspended, and deck truss spans - the longest of which is the western-most span of 791 feet. It was originally named the Rock Island Bridge, but was subsequently renamed for Memphis businessman J.T. Harahan, who was president of the firm that built the bridge and who was killed in a 1912 train wreck. (HarahanBridge.com and BridgeHunter.com)

A distinctive feature of some early-20th-century Mississippi river crossings is the addition of two single-lane motor vehicle roadways along the sides of the bridge. The wooden-planked roads were apparently a terrifying travel experience and they were prone to fires started by sparks from passing locomotives. The Harahan was the primary vehicular bridge in this area until the neighboring Memphis-Arkansas bridge opened in 1949. As of this writing in 2011, there are plans to recover the roadway as a recreational pedestrian trail.

I had noticed the remnants of the abandoned roadways numerous times when passing through Memphis on I-55, but had never had the time to explore further. In the summer of 2011 I had the time...

View from the north 08/20/2011 07:47	View from the north 08/20/2011 07:48
Eastern abutment 08/20/2011 07:56	Eastern abutment 08/20/2011 07:56
Eastern abutment 08/20/2011 07:57	Dedication plaque 08/20/2011 07:57
2nd Dedication plaque 08/20/2011 07:57	Pier #4 08/20/2011 07:59
Under the northern roadway on the East bank 08/20/2011 08:00	Pier #4 08/20/2011 08:00
Looking south at the Frisco and Memphis-Arkansas bridges 08/20/2011 08:00	Under the northern roadway on the East bank 08/20/2011 08:00
Under the northern roadway on the East bank 08/20/2011 08:00	View from the Eastern shore at piers #1 - #3 08/20/2011 08:02
View from the Eastern shore 08/20/2011 08:03	First Unitarian Church 08/20/2011 08:05
Eastern abutment over the Church 08/20/2011 08:05	Underpass under East approach 08/20/2011 08:07
Three bridges viewed from the southeast on I-55 08/20/2011 08:08	Abandoned hotel on the Eastern shore 08/20/2011 08:14
Active hotel on the Eastern shore south of the Bridge 08/20/2011 08:14	Memphis-Arkansas Bridge 08/20/2011 08:13
Memphis-Arkansas Bridge sign on Western shore 08/20/2011 08:18

In contrast to the largely rebuilt Eastern roadway approach, the remnants of the Western roadway approach are fairly readily accessible (albeit overgrown) from exit #1 down Dacus Lake Road (the local road signs call it Eddie Garey Road).

Dacus Lake Road 08/20/2011 08:25	Abandoned western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:19
Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:19	Train crossing the Frisco Bridge 08/20/2011 08:19
Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:19	Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:20
Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:26	Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:26
Approach interface with southern deck 08/20/2011 08:26	Southern roadway deck 08/20/2011 08:26
Southern roadway deck 08/20/2011 08:26	Roadway deck and Frisco Bridge viewed from the North 08/20/2011 08:27
Northern roadway deck over Dacus Lake Road 08/20/2011 08:27	Frisco bridge headed East 08/20/2011 08:28
Southern roadway deck 08/20/2011 08:29	Southern roadway deck headed east up the bridge 08/20/2011 08:29
Southern roadway deck headed east up the bridge 08/20/2011 08:29	Cross trusses 08/20/2011 08:30
Under the southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:30	Under the southern roadway deck 08/20/2011 08:30
Northern roadway deck headed East 08/20/2011 08:30	Northern roadway deck 08/20/2011 08:31
Frisco bridge crossing the Western approach 08/20/2011 08:31	No dumping 08/20/2011 08:32
Service road up to approach 08/20/2011 08:33	Gate to approach 08/20/2011 08:34
West abutment of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge 08/20/2011 08:34	West approach 08/20/2011 08:34
Looking East from the West approach 08/20/2011 08:36	Southern roadway headed East 08/20/2011 08:36
Remnants of wooden plank deck 08/20/2011 08:37	Southern roadway headed East 08/20/2011 08:37
Railing on Northern roadway 08/20/2011 08:37	Southern roadway headed East 08/20/2011 08:37
Western approach deck under the Frisco Bridge 08/20/2011 08:37	Western approach railing 08/20/2011 08:38
Staged maintenance materials 08/20/2011 08:38	Frisco Bridge West abutment 08/20/2011 08:38
1930 - reconstructed abutment? 08/20/2011 08:38	Western approach railing - who is drying their mat? 08/20/2011 08:38
Frisco Bridge West abutment 08/20/2011 08:38	Frisco Bridge headed East 08/20/2011 08:39
Sest approach looking south 08/20/2011 08:39	Decapitated light post 08/20/2011 08:39
Western approach railing 08/20/2011 08:39	Western approach railing 08/20/2011 08:39
Western approach 08/20/2011 08:40	Under the Memphis-Arkansas West approach 08/20/2011 08:40
Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:41	Under the Memphis-Arkansas West approach 08/20/2011 08:41
Eddie Garey Road? 08/20/2011 08:41

The concrete Western approach structure appears in surprisingly good shape. From underneath the concrete looks amazingly fresh.

Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:41	Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:42
Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:43	Under the Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:44
Under the Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:44	Under the Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:44
Under the Western roadway approach 08/20/2011 08:44	Southern roadway West abutment 08/20/2011 08:44
Southern roadway West abutment 08/20/2011 08:44	Southern roadway West abutment 08/20/2011 08:45
Southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:45	Southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:46
Southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:46	Southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:47
Southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:47	Southern roadway 08/20/2011 08:47
Memphis-Arkansas Bridge headed back to Tennessee 08/20/2011 08:51	Memphis-Arkansas Bridge 08/20/2011 08:51