Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Rock Island Bridge

Overview

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Photos

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View from northeast

All photos taken by an anonymous source

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View from southwest

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View from below

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South portal

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North end

Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Timeline

Compiled by James Baughn

Jan. 11, 1853: Little Rock and Memphis Railroad chartered by the Arkansas Legislature
1871: Rail service established between Little Rock and Memphis
1898: Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railroad acquired the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad and created a subsidiary company, the Choctaw and Memphis Railroad, to oversee construction of line from Little Rock west into Indian Territory
Mar. 21, 1899: Choctaw and Memphis Railroad awarded construction contract for the bridge
Dec. 10, 1899: First regularly scheduled train service crossed the bridge from Memphis to Oklahoma City
1904: Choctaw Railroad acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
1980: Rock Island liquidated in bankruptcy court. Union Pacific later acquired Rock Island Bridge.
Dec. 27, 2001: Ownership transferred from Union Pacific to City of Little Rock

Facts

Overview: Closed vertical-lift railroad bridge over the Arkansas River in Little Rock at the Clinton Presidential Library
Location: Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas
Status: Awaiting rehabilitation to reopen for pedestrian traffic
History: Built 1899 by the Choctaw and Memphis Railroad; lift span added 1972
Design: From north to south:
Two 14-panel Pennsylvania through truss spans
One 12-panel, polygonal Warren through truss vertical lift span
One 14-panel Pennsylvania through truss span
Dimensions: Total length: 1,614.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude: +34.74870, -92.25818 (decimal degrees)
34°44'55" N, 92°15'29" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Inventory number: BH 10546 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Update Log

April 30, 2008: Updated by Max Johnson
June 26, 2005: Posted all new photos from an anonymous source

Sources

Fredrick Garcia - fandsgarcia [at] gmail [dot] com

Comments

Rock Island Bridge

Posted January 19, 2008, by Name

This bridge did not have the lift span when it was built.

As I read on another site, the lift span was added in 1972.

The way I read it, the City of Little Rock was sending in letters, telling that river traffic could not go under the bridge, so after 2 or 3 years of complaints, Rock Island closed the bridge in 1971, and mid 1972 reopened with a new lift span.

Sadly, Rock Island only got to use the new lift span for 8 years, until they went bankrupt in 1980.

Rock Island Bridge

Posted April 25, 2007, by Fred Garcia (fandsgarcia [at] gmail [dot] com)

Earth Day festivities were being held on the Clinton Library grounds when I was visiting this bridge on 21 April '07. Attached are two views that will compliment the nice array of photos already posted for this bridge.

Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.