Talmadge Memorial Bridge, Cable-stayed bridge in Savannah, United States.
Talmadge Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Savannah River between downtown Savannah, Georgia, and Hutchinson Island. Its deck carries four lanes of US 17/SR 404 Spur, held by white cables fanning from four light-grey concrete pylons that stand in pairs above the roadway. The main span is 1,100 feet (340 m) and the total length 1.9 miles (3.1 km).
The original Talmadge bridge, a cantilever truss span, opened in 1953 with only two lanes and no median. By the 1980s it obstructed large ships bound for the Port of Savannah, so construction of a four-lane cable-stayed replacement began in 1987 and was completed in March 1991. The new bridge was first proposed to be named for the Creek leader Tomochichi, but after public forums the original name was restored.
The bridge is named for Eugene Talmadge, Georgia governor in 1933–37 and 1941–43. When the 1991 span was planned, the name Tomochichi, a Creek leader involved in Savannah's 1733 founding, was proposed; after public forums the Talmadge name was restored. In September 2017 Savannah's City Council passed a resolution to rename it "Savannah Bridge", but renaming is decided by the state legislature.
The bridge carries four lanes of US 17/SR 404 Spur, with no median; its north end lands on Hutchinson Island, where a separate older two-lane bridge crosses the Back River to Jasper County, South Carolina. The deck sits 56 m (185 ft) above the Savannah River, so the river stays open to oceangoing ships below.
The 1991 span was nearly not called Talmadge: planners proposed naming it for Tomochichi, the Creek leader tied to Savannah's 1733 founding, before public forums restored the old name. In 2017 Savannah's City Council voted to rename it Savannah Bridge, but only the state legislature can decide. Some argue the 1991 structure was never formally named in state records.
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