Eggner's Ferry Bridge is a two-lane bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 in Trigg

Trigg County, Kentucky

Trigg County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1820. As of 2000, the population was 12,597. Its county seat is Cadiz. The county is named for Stephen Trigg, a frontier officer in the American Revolutionary War who died in the Battle of Blue Licks...

 and Marshall County

Marshall County, Kentucky

Marshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 30,125. The 2007 Census Bureau population estimate was 31,258. Its county seat is Benton. It was a dry county until 2004, when residents of Calvert City voted to allow sales of liquor by the drink in...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. The bridge carries US 68

U.S. Route 68

U.S. Route 68 is an east–west United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at U.S. Route 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its eastern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio...

 and Kentucky Route 80 across Kentucky Lake

Kentucky Lake

Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. Created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River by Kentucky Dam, the lake is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the United States east of the...

.

The bridge opened on March 25, 1932, before the lake was flooded. On July 10, 1943, officials shut the bridge down for five months to build new pilings

Deep foundation

A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...

 and raise the structure to make room for Kentucky Lake. A ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 was established to cross the Tennessee River

Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...

 while the bridge was closed.

A photo exists from the ribbon cutting ceremony

Ribbon cutting ceremony

]A ribbon cutting ceremony is a public ceremony conducted to inaugurate the opening to the general public of a new building or business.Often, the ceremony is conducted in just the manner the name suggests: by tying a ceremonial ribbon across the main entrance of the building, which is then cut in...

 after the bridge was raised in 1943-44. Pictured in the middle is Kentucky Governor

Governor of Kentucky

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...

 Simeon S. Willis

Simeon S. Willis

Simeon Slavens Willis was the 46th Governor of Kentucky, United States, serving from 1943 to 1947. He was the only Republican elected governor of Kentucky between 1927 and 1967....

.

The bridge, plus a sister bridge that crosses nearby Lake Barkley

Lake Barkley

Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg counties in Kentucky and extending into Stewart and Houston counties in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of Barkley Dam. Both the lake and the dam are named for Vice President Alben...

, is now slated to be replaced by a tied-arch bridge with four traffic lanes plus a sidewalk and bike path. Construction of the new bridges is currently scheduled to start in 2011 as part of an upgrade to the existing 68/80 corridor. The project is expected to be completed in late 2017.