Helena Bridge
Encyclopedia
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
carrying US 49 across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
between Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
Helena-West Helena is the county seat of and the largest city within Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The current city represents a consolidation, effective on January 1, 2006, of the two Arkansas cities of Helena and West Helena. West Helena is located on the western side of Crowley's...
and Lula, Mississippi
Lula, Mississippi
Lula is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 370 at the 2000 census.Lula was the birthplace of Dr. Ransom Myers , a renowned Canadian-based marine biologist/conservationist who published a seminal study on overfishing revealing the dramatic loss of nearly 90% of...
.
The main cantilever span was modeled on the similar Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge
Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge
The Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge was a two lane cantilever bridge that carried US 82 and US 278 across the Mississippi River between Lake Village, Arkansas and Greenville, Mississippi. The bridge was named for Benjamin G. Humphreys II, a former United States Congressman from Greenville. A new...
which had been built downstream by Arkansas & Mississippi roughly two decades earlier. However, the river navigation issues that led to the pending replacement of the Humphreys Bridge with the Greenville Bridge
Greenville Bridge
The Greenville Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge crossing the Mississippi River that carries US 82 between Lake Village, Arkansas and Greenville, Mississippi. The main span's length makes the bridge the third-longest cable-stayed bridge in the United States, and fourth longest in North America...
do not apply to the Helena Bridge, as the river curve here is far less severe than the one just upstream from the Humphreys Bridge.