Southern Cyclist Magazine[tm] - A Trail of Two Cities

Updated: October 27, 1999

A Trail of Two Cities.
By: Nathan Gifford

- The old bridge was built in 1930 -

(VICKSBURG, MS) It is surprising how much heat a 69 year-old bridge span can generate. This is made even more surprising when you consider that the bridge has been closed for over a year, and the modern I-20 bridge span lies only a half mile south of this old black iron span.

28.8 Real

Report from Vicksburg, MS

'Right click' Downloadable high-speed version (1.9 MB)

What is at stake is the possible fate of this bridge, once the only between Vicksburg, MS and Delta, LA [map]. On Tuesday, the residents of Warren County, MS, the actual owners of the structure, will hold a non-binding vote on whether to sell, reopen to light traffic, or convert this old structure into one the nation's newest park.

- Ray Duncan stands on the proposed River Park Bridge -

On the Vicksburg side is Ray Duncan, of Friends of the Old Vicksburg Bridge. Ray is spearheading a drive to convert the aging span into one of the nation's premier river parks. Similar to the Walnut Street Bridge in Chattanooga, TN and the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis, MO this bridge park would offer a stunning view of this nation's most important waterway, the Mississippi River.

Old bridge conversions are not new. One of the nation's first and most successful conversion was the Walnut Street Bridge. After nearly a decade-long closure and the high cost of reconstruction, few thought the century old stone structure would escape demolition.

Enter the concerned citizens of Chattanooga. Overlooking the blighted area around the bridge, the group organized a campaign that got the bridge on the National Registry of Historic Places. After nearly 6 years of reconstruction the Walnut Street Bridge reopened. It quickly won the Federal Design Achievement Award from the National Endowment for the Arts as the oldest surviving truss bridge of its size in the South.

But there was more. Emboldened by he new facilities for pedestrians, roller bladers, joggers, and cyclists the district began to enjoy rebirth. Long abandoned to warehouses, soon the area sported restaurants, galleries, and night clubs. A trip to Chattanooga is now not complete without a visit to this tourists' Mecca.

Ray envisions a similar story for Vicksburg's River Park Bridge. Using federal TEA-21 or Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, monies already approved for the River Park project, Ray wants to add benches and safety devices to the structure. This would mean little to no additional costs to the residents of Warren County. Not only is there enough room to accommodate walkers, runners, and cyclists, in an emergency the bridge could be reopened to one-way traffic.

The bridge should easily be a great attraction to this tourist oriented city. Being one of the two only pedestrian bridges spanning the Mississippi it affords people a tremendous view of this mile-wide waterway. The view from span's center with the City of Vicksburg nestled into the east bank's bluff's are eye-catching by daylight. One can only image how beautiful a moonlight stroll could be with the banks illuminated by riverboats and streetlamps.

But this still leaves out the river's west bank. Here too are great opportunities. The bridge owns a 200' wide right-of-way. Envisioned are walkways down to the sandbars along the Mighty Mississippi, long popular with locals. With the riverboats moored on the east bank and will remind people of scenes right out of Tom Sawyer.

Despite these visions, the citizens of Delta, LA just want the bridge reopened. Here the 400 souls in this largely agricultural area believe that they are not only on the wrong side of the river, they are on the wrong side of the tracks. In 1998, when the Bridge Commission closed the span, the quick trip for residents to Vicksburg added another 12 miles. Worse still is that when trains block the crossings they are forced to drive even further.

- Delta, LA residents ready signs asking bridge to be reopened -

Delta residents that work in Vicksburg or Mississippi are impacted the most. "Its 6 miles each way out of my way to go to work in Vicksburg," says Delta resident Bob Mitchell. "If this keeps up I am going to have to move to Mississippi."

For the few businesses in Delta, the loss of the bridge puts them at a competitive disadvantage. I-20 is about three miles from the town. Signage does little to encourage travelers to detour to Delta.

Even if the vote were to okay reopening of the bridge there are many problems. One of the chief problems with reopening the bridge is its narrow width. Like many bridges built in the 1920's, the roadbed is a mere 18' wide. So narrow, in fact, that side swipes and clipping mirrors are a common fear among motorists. "I use to pull in mirrors on my Suburban if I encountered another one," says Bridge Commissioner Winky Freeman. Winky added, "Your only other choice is to hug the rail which isn't very safe either."

This argument does not intimidate Delta resident Ms. Mary Kavanaugh and her group True Friends of the Bridge. "That is just propaganda," she retorts. "There are plenty of 18' wide roadways in both Louisiana and Mississippi. I don't see them trying to close them up."

Another problem is the condition of the roadbed. Concrete chunks have peeled away from the bridge's underside mostly on the Louisiana end. While engineers recently gave the bridge a clean bill of health, the Bridge Commission has erected a fence to keep sightseers from going beneath the structure. In fact, the Commission estimates that before the bridge could be reopened an additional $2.3 million dollars will have to be spent repairing the roadway. Funding these repairs are not a problem as the Commission has over $4 million dollars which can only be spent on the bridge.

The death knell on reopening might well be insurance, though at this date this cannot be verified. "On the Mississippi side of the river we are self insured," says Winky Freeman. "On the Louisiana side, there are no caps on damages . This is something that we may have to look into if the bridge reopens."

To Bridge Commission the obvious choice is to approve the River Park Bridge. Earlier this year the five member board voted unanimously to do just this. This would save much of the bridge's $4 million trust fund by using federal dollars for the park. Further, since the bridge would remain the property of Warren County, the revenues paid by the railroad would fill not only the county's coffers, but Madison Parish (Delta, LA) to the tune $28,000 per year.

So why have the vote? Mary Kavanaugh probably said it best, "Its the neighborly thing to do."

As a journalist, I was very surprised by the attitudes of citizens on both sides of the river. Every citizen in Delta always referred to the Old Vicksburg Bridge as Vicksburg property and that they were free to do with it as they wished. The citizens of Vicksburg thought they should look into issue more and maybe have a vote because, "those people in Delta are our neighbors."

Most local pundits expect that the majority of voters will support reopening the bridge for light traffic. No one believes that the bridge will be sold, though the railroad offered about $5 million for the structure. Considering the exposure to lawsuits from future accidents and the opposition among some officials and the Bridge Commission, it seems doubtful that the bridge will reopen.

The final question will be, can officials turn down over a million dollars to build one of the nation's premier parks and the new business it will generate on both sides of the river.

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