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.

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.

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).

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...

08/20/2011 07:47:42
View from the north
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View from the north
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Eastern abutment
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Eastern abutment
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Eastern abutment
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Dedication plaque
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2nd Dedication plaque
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Pier #4
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Under the northern roadway on the East bank
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Pier #4
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Looking south at the Frisco and Memphis-Arkansas bridges
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Under the northern roadway on the East bank
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Under the northern roadway on the East bank
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View from the Eastern shore at piers #1 - #3
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View from the Eastern shore
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Harahan Bridge
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First Unitarian Church
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Eastern abutment over the Church
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First Unitarian Church
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Eastern abutment over the Church
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Underpass under East approach
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Three bridges viewed from the southeast on I-55
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Abandoned hotel on the Eastern shore
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Active hotel on the Eastern shore south of the Bridge
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Memphis-Arkansas Bridge
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Memphis-Arkansas Bridge sign on Western shore
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Dacus Lake Road
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Abandoned western roadway approach
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Western roadway approach
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Train crossing the Frisco Bridge
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Western roadway approach
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Western roadway approach
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Western roadway approach
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Western roadway approach
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Approach interface with southern deck
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Southern roadway deck
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Southern roadway deck
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Roadway deck and Frisco Bridge viewed from the North
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Northern roadway deck over Dacus Lake Road
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Frisco bridge headed East
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Southern roadway deck
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Southern roadway deck headed east up the bridge
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Southern roadway deck headed east up the bridge
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Cross trusses
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Under the southern roadway
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Under the southern roadway deck
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Northern roadway deck headed East
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Northern roadway deck
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Frisco bridge crossing the Western approach
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No dumping
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Service road up to approach
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Gate to approach
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West abutment of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge
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West approach
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Looking East from the West approach
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Southern roadway headed East
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Remnants of wooden plank deck
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Southern roadway headed East
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Railing on Northern roadway
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Southern roadway headed East
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Western approach deck under the Frisco Bridge
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Western approach railing
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Staged maintenance materials
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Frisco Bridge West abutment
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1930 - reconstructed abutment?
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Western approach railing - who is drying their mat?
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Frisco Bridge West abutment
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Frisco Bridge headed East
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Sest approach looking south
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Decapitated light post
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Western approach railing
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Western approach railing
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Western approach
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Under the Memphis-Arkansas West approach
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Western roadway approach
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Under the Memphis-Arkansas West approach
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Eddie Garey Road?
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Western roadway approach
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Western roadway approach
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Western roadway approach
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Under the Western roadway approach - concrete looks amazingly fresh
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Under the Western roadway approach
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Under the Western roadway approach
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Under the Western roadway approach
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Southern roadway West abutment
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Southern roadway West abutment
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Southern roadway West abutment
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Southern roadway
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Southern roadway
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Southern roadway
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Southern roadway
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Southern roadway
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Southern roadway
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Memphis-Arkansas Bridge headed back to Tennessee
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Memphis-Arkansas Bridge

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