Photos 

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Gay Street Bridge

Knoxville's Oldest Bridge, a Spandrel-braced (cantilever) arch bridge built in 1897. View looking southbound

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Gay Street Bridge, looking northbound

A profile of the Spandrel-braced (cantilever) arch style of bridge-building.

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Gay Street Bridge, Barge Navigation Span in Center

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Gay Street Bridge, looking Northbound toward Downtown

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Renovated Surface, northbound toward Downtown

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Gay Street Bridge, new railing

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Close Up of a Pier, Channel Span to the left, Navigation Channel to right

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Gay Street Bridge, with Neyland Drive in foreground

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in May 2008

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Map 

Vicinity Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Facts 

Overview
Steel spandrel-braced (cantilever) arch, concrete deck bridge over Tennessee River on Gay Street in Knoxville
Location
Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1897, reconditioned 2004
Builder
- Youngstown Bridge Co. of Youngstown, Ohio
Design
A spandrel-braced (cantilever) arch bridge with concrete deck, the only bridge of its type in Tennessee.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 252.0 ft.
Total length: 1,486.0 ft.
Deck width: 29.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 18.6 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
Approximate latitude, longitude
+35.95982, -83.91527   (decimal degrees)
35°57'35" N, 83°54'55" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/237084/3983421 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Knoxville
Inventory number
BH 32587 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 01/2007)
Deck condition rating: Excellent (9 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Excellent (9 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 82.4 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2007)
3,520

Update Log 

  • February 27, 2009: Updated by Bob Davis: Added coordinates
  • August 3, 2008: Updated by Calvin Sneed
  • July 4, 2008: Updated by Calvin Sneed

Sources 

  • Calvin Sneed - us43137415 [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Bob Davis - bobdaviscfi [at] earthlink [dot] net

Comments 

Gay Street Bridge
Posted October 19, 2008, by Bob Davis (bobdaviscfi [at] earthlink [dot] net)

This bridge was extensively overhauled circa 2005 with Federal fundingand modified for safety by reducing the number of lanes and adding the new lighting and concrete curbing. It is the oldest of the four vehicle bridges in Knoxville across the Tennessee River (Fourt Loudon Lake) along with one railroad bridge.