Last Run of the Day

A tug boat pushes a barge under the Vicksburg Bridges as it nears sunset.

Sitting side by side in Vicksburg, Mississippi are two bridges, the... more

by Susan Rissi Tregoning

Title

Last Run of the Day

Artist

Susan Rissi Tregoning

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A tug boat pushes a barge under the Vicksburg Bridges as it nears sunset.

Sitting side by side in Vicksburg, Mississippi are two bridges, the Vicksburg Bridge and the Old Vicksburg Bridge, which is also known as the Mississippi River Bridge. Located on Interstate 20 and US Route 80, the Vicksburg Bridge is the northernmost crossing of the Mississippi River between Mississippi and Louisiana. Now only a railroad bridge, the Old Vicksburg Bridge built-in 1928-30, was in use to carry cars across the river until 1998 when it was replaced by the new bridge.

When the old bridge was open to regular traffic, it was so narrow that a rather unusual system was used to handle the tractor-trailer truck traffic, which used the bridge. There was a pair of railroad styled signal towers located at each end of the bridge that required trucks to stop. Once stopped, the towers would close off traffic for all vehicles in both directions, and then allow trucks to cross the bridge alone, using the full width of both of the narrow lanes. Before they started using the bridge this way, truck drivers would pull the passenger side mirror in and then position their front passenger side tire against a rail located just off the roadway surface. Using this method, trucks could meet and pass each other while traveling east or west. The most unnerving was going east and meeting a train moving westward on the trucks passenger side and another truck west bound on the driver’s side. Semis were only allowed to cross the bridge during daylight hours.

The old bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Special Features:
The Magic Hour of Blue & Gold 9.21.20

Copyright 2019 Susan Rissi Tregoning

Uploaded

November 29th, 2019