Memphis & Arkansas Bridge

The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge is a cantilever bridge crossing the Mississippi River and linking Tennessee with Arkansas. It consists of five Warren truss spans extending 1592 meters in total, with the steel framework rising highest over the center of the river channel.

Construction began in 1945, but delays caused by postwar conditions and flooding extended the work until the bridge opened to traffic on December 17, 1949. It became the oldest bridge in the Interstate Highway System that later developed across the United States.

The name reflects the connection between two cities across state lines and the importance of this crossing in regional travel. Drivers pass through the steel framework as part of their daily commute along the multilane roadway that links both riverbanks.

The crossing carries Interstate 55 as well as several US routes including numbers 61, 64, 70, 78, and 79 between Memphis and West Memphis. Heavy trucks and vehicles of all types use this crossing daily, so lanes are often busy with traffic.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation and Arkansas Department of Transportation share maintenance of this oldest bridge in the Interstate system together. The engineering firm Modjeski and Masters designed it as the third major crossing at this point on the Mississippi.

Location: Tennessee

Location: Arkansas

Inception: 1949

Official opening: December 17, 1949

Length: 1,592 m

GPS coordinates: 35.12751,-90.07567

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:29