South Omaha Bridge

Oh no, nothing to do with the condition of the bridge, it always felt very solid. It has everything to do with the narrow lanes on it. The lanes were I think only 10 or 11 feet wide and felt smaller then that when a semi or large SUV would get on the bridge.

That bridge was a white knuckle experience and I hated every crossing on it. I used to go out of my way to avoid it if I had the time, usually taking I-80.

From what I understand the new South Omaha Bridge will eventually be painted Husker red, which will really make her shine. They are currently planting trees and sprucing up the pedestrian trail that crosses it. Unfortunately cleaning up graffiti also...

I didn't notice these before, I love the shots I have of the shadows the girders cast on the bridge, they give you some appreciation for how massive this is (by Omaha standards). It kinda reminds me of my first time crossing the Tappan Zee bridge in terms of sheer awe.

And if they don't choose to maintain this new bridge.....it will be in the same condition someday.

Blame the agencies who poorly maintained such a bridge, not the bridge itself. This bridge was NOT junk, it was a quality bridge that would have lasted centuries if maintained properly. If it was in bad shape, that is because highway agencies neglected the bridge, wasting materials, tax dollars, and destroying history. At the least it should have been left in place for pedestrian use.

I guess at least it is a truss!

I went over this on opening day, nice smooth drive, it is a million times better then the old one. Sorry to those who like older bridges, but the old bridge was junk. This is like trading in the Kia for the Cadillac.

Driving over the South Omaha Bridge in 1966 I asked my big brother the purpose of all the beams and triangles. I was 6 at the time. He said they really weren't necessary. Even though he was 10 and generally knew everything it didn't make sense that they'd put up extra parts that weren't necessary. Today I'm a professional engineer. Looking at the underside of the old S. Omaha Bridge today and comparing it to the new span, my brother was wrong. There is not a single pound of extraneous steel in the 1936 span.

I agree there. Slapping beams on truss bridge pillars makes one God-awful example of an UCEB. The new South Omaha span is indeed a sight of architectural expertise in action. The new Amelia Earhart bridge is also "expertise", using a steel arch method.

Beautiful!!! Now why in HELL couldn't the construction site for the new Missouri river bridges at Miami, and Glasgow look like this?

Here are 19-20 of 20 photos

Here are 13-18 of 20 photos

Here are 7-12 of 20 photos

Here are 1-6 of 20 photos

Well, I just took what may be my last trip over the old South O Bridge. I went out of my way from downtown to use it on my way to Sams in Council Bluffs. The new bridge is looking absolutely massive, I think it will be a worthy replacement, but to get it we are losing one of my all time favorite bridges.

I recieved this message from an associate of mine today, who lives in the area:

"I personally hate that bridge!!! We have crossed it way too many times and I can't stand driving over it. It makes weird noises and all very much like it will [fall] down. I'm glad they are getting rid of it!"

Okay, so not everyone likes iconic bridges.

Yes it is sad to see an iconic steel truss go. I did check out a construction video of the new South Omaha Bridge. The new one shows the current trend of steel trusses. It looks to be a large single span channel bridge with ordinary "UCEB" approaches.

Goodbye Old Friend, I guess this weekend is our last journey over the Missouri

http://www.ketv.com/news/20729292/detail.html

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090826/NEWS01/908269980

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090826/NEWS01/908269991

Yea, that is down below the Nebraska approach. I went to Manden park to take some shots of the main approach but the overgrowth was so bad you couldn't see the river. I couldn't find any other places that spoke to me about the bridge, since I'm not a bridge person really. So sorry, no main span pictures. However, I did get an awesome shot of the Bellevue Toll Bridge! the rest of my day on the river photo shoot don't really apply to this site, unless people wan't pictures of the casino. :o)

I have driven over this bridge a few times. The main span is a Cantilever through truss. The bridge has long deck truss approaches which are shown in the pictures. I believe that the pictures below were taken on the Nebraska side of the river.

That looks like a deck truss rather than a through truss.

Pictures

Work on a replacement bridge is well underway. See http://www.nebraskatransportation.org/projects/s-omaha-vet-mem/index.htm