{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name = Brookport Bridge | image = Brookport Bridge 2022a.jpg | image_size = 300px | caption = The bridge in 2022 | official_name = Irvin S. Cobb Bridge | carries = 2 lanes of {{jct|country=USA|US|45}} | crosses = [[Ohio River]] | locale = [[Paducah, Kentucky|Paducah, KY]] and [[Brookport, Illinois|Brookport, IL]] | maint = [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://maps.kytc.ky.gov/bridgedataminer/ | title=ArcGIS Web Application }}</ref> | id = | design = [[Truss bridge]] | mainspan = {{convert|711.0|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | length = {{convert|5385.8|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|19.7|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | height = | load = {{convert|15|ST|kg|1|lk=in|abbr=on}} | clearance = {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} | below = | traffic = | begin = | complete = 1929 | open = | closed = | toll = | map_cue = | map_image = | map_text = | map_width = | coordinates = {{coord|37.11465|-88.62915|display=inline,title}} }} The '''Brookport Bridge''' (officially the '''Paducah-Brookport Bridge''' 1929–1943, and the '''Irvin S. Cobb Bridge''' since 1943) is a ten-span, steel deck (grate), narrow two-lane [[truss bridge]] that carries [[U.S. Route 45]] (US 45) across the [[Ohio River]] in the U.S. states of [[Illinois]] and [[Kentucky]]. It connects [[Paducah, Kentucky]], north to [[Brookport, Illinois]].<ref name=bridgehunter>{{cite web|url=https://bridgehunter.com/il/massac/brookport/|date=July 9, 2005|access-date=August 1, 2007|last=Baughn|first=James|title=Brookport Bridge|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
==History== On February 4, 1927, Kentucky congressman [[Alben William Barkley]] introduced a bill authorizing the Paducah Board of Trade to construct the bridge.<ref>"Seek Authority from House to Span Ohio Here." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', February 5, 1927, 1.</ref> Following House and Senate passage, President [[Calvin Coolidge]] signed the bill on February 23.<ref>"President Signs Bill for Highway Span at Paducah." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', February 24, 1927, 1.</ref> Paducah's Board of Trade consulted with several bond houses about financing, and the bid from Toledo's Stranahan, Harris & Otis was accepted on March 17, with construction cost then estimated as one to two million dollars.<ref>"Bid Accepted for Paducah-Brookport Bridge." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', March 18, 1927, 1.</ref> Traffic surveys—preliminaries to siting the bridge—began on March 24.<ref>"Preliminary Work on Bridge Survey is Begun Today." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', March 18, 1927, 1.</ref> The bridge was designed by the Kansas City firm of Harrington, Howard and Ashe,<ref>"Bridge Sites are Surveyed." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', June 21, 1927, 1.</ref> and construction was superintended by Chicago's P.W. Chapman & Company.<ref>"Barr to Confer with Directors of Bridge." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', July 20, 1927, 6.</ref> The Paducah-Ohio River Bridge Company would be the bridge's legal owner-operator.<ref>"How Paducah-Brookport Bridge Will Span the Mighty Ohio." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', August 24, 1927, 1.</ref> The final obstacle to groundbreaking was surmounted upon obtaining the War Department's approval for the project on July 22.<ref>"Bridge Approved by War Department." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', July 23, 1927, 1.</ref>
Construction began in the fall of 1927 and continued year-round, sometimes slowed by high water on the Ohio River. As early as October 1928, the State of Kentucky proposed taking over the bridge and—once tolls had paid off its bonds—making passage toll-free.<ref>"State Would Buy Paducah Bridge to Make It Free." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', March 19, 1928, 1.</ref> The Paducah-Brookport Bridge officially opened on Sunday, April 14, 1929, with a toll schedule of ten cents for pedestrians, bicyclists, and passengers on buses; fifty cents for horse-drawn vehicles; $1 for an automobile and its driver, with five cents added for each passenger; and higher tolls for trucks and other large vehicles.<ref>"Announce Toll Rates on the New Paducah-Brookport Traffic Span." ''Paducah News-Democrat'', April 10, 1929, 1.</ref> The bridge's final cost was approximately $2 million, and it was used by approximately 1200 automobiles on its first day in operation.<ref>"2 Million Dollar Span Over Ohio is Open to Traffic." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', April 15, 1929, 1.</ref>
The bridge's formal dedication was on May 9, 1929, with thousands in attendance. The ceremonial ribbon-cutting by "Miss Paducah" Hazel Miller, and appearances of Paducah's and Brookport's mayors, were included in Paramount's newsreel celebrating these festivities.<ref>"Paducah’s Bridge Film at Columbia." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', May 14, 1929, 2.</ref> Sunday toll discounts, implemented soon after the bridge's opening, boosted tourism to Paducah and Brookport.<ref>"New Bridge is Travel Stimulus." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', June 17, 1929, 1.</ref> By mid-August, all fares were reduced, and round-trip discounts offered: $1 for any automobile and its passengers, $1.25 for the two-way fare.<ref>"Reduced Fare! Paducah-Brookport Bridge Effective August 150" (advertisement). ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', August 13, 1929, 12.</ref>
On October 23, 1929, a river steamer, the ''Chaperon''—which was towing a showboat—struck a submerged concrete block below the bridge which had been created to facilitate construction but was unmarked by light or buoy. The Paducah-Brookport Bridge Company, along with the Milwaukee builder the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Co., were sued for $40,000.<ref>"River News." ''Evansville Courier and Press'', January 8, 1930, 16.</ref> The lawsuit was heard in Louisville on June 9 in the U.S. District Court in Louisville.<ref>"Judge Dawson to Hear Big Damage Suit on Monday." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', June 8, 1930, 9.</ref>
In 1932, the Paducah-Brookport Bridge Company indicated its willingness to explore a sale to the State of Kentucky.<ref>"Our Paducah Bridge." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', July 8, 1932, 4.</ref> Until September 1933, that firm operated the bridge; whereupon the bridge's bondholders—in a procedure commonly used to protect such mortgages—sold the bridge in foreclosure to a Delaware-registered corporation supervised by the bondholders, the Kentucky-Illinois Bridge Corporation, for $300,000.<ref>Ward, Henry. "$300,000 Paid for Paducah Span to Protect Mortgage." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', March 12, 1935, 1.</ref> During its first six years of operation, the bridge's average annual gross income from tolls were only about $69,000, and net losses for 1931–1933 alone totaled $457,509.40.<ref>Ward, Henry. "Bridge Gross Income for 6 Years Averaged $69,000." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', March 14, 1935, 1.</ref>
On February 15, 1935, the Kentucky State Highway Commission voted 6–2 to purchase the bridge for $800,000, subject to approval by the Federal court supervising its receivership status.<ref>"Kentucky Buys Paducah Span." ''Danville Advocate-Messenger'', May 15, 1935, 1.</ref> On July 10, the state formally awarded $800,000 in bridge bonds, paying 3-1/2% annually for 20 years, to the Kentucky-Illinois Bridge Company, the bonds to be underwritten primarily through tolls; the bond transfer would be completed by August 15.<ref>"State Pays for Bridge." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', July 10, 1935, 10.</ref>
The State of Kentucky gradually reduced tolls. In February 1938, a 90-day experiment further lowered the passenger car fee to 25 cents each way, anticipating that increases in vehicle traffic would make up for the reduced fees,<ref>"Prices Slashed: Toll on Paducah-Brookport Bridge Cut to Half Price on Passenger Cars" (advertisement). ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', February 27, 1938, 8.</ref> and the reduction was made permanent in June.<ref>"Toll Charges are Reduced." ''The Park City (KY) Daily News'', June 22, 1938, 1.</ref> By 1939, an average of 1000 vehicles daily were using the bridge.<ref>"Further Gains Are Reported In Bridge Traffic." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', September 14, 1939, 1, 17.</ref> In February 1941, the toll for automobiles was again reduced, to 15 cents.<ref>"Reduced Toll Fare" (advertisement). ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', February 9, 1941, 14.</ref>
In November 1943, the structure was renamed the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge as a tribute to the state's famed journalist-humorist [[Irvin S. Cobb]], a Paducah native.<ref>"Paducah Bridge To Be Named For Cobb." ''Park City Daily News'', November 16, 1943, 4.</ref> That same month, tolls were eliminated.<ref>"Free Brookport Bridge Nov. 24." ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'', November 19, 1943, 1.</ref>
By the 1960s, a Paducah newspaper columnist was among those hoping for a modern replacement: {{blockquote|The Brookport bridge was built for the 1920s. It was magnificent then; it is old and outmoded and almost a bottleneck now....We’ve got an outmoded bridge that, in the near future, is going to be a bigger problem even than it is now....It’s just that you drive along the bridge and there is nothing but a rail between you and a mighty river; the bridge is scary. It will be as long as it is just an ordinary road hanging up there with nothing but rails on the side. You’ve got to widen it so that there’ll be some play between that road and the rails. But what really is needed is a new four-lane bridge which can carry traffic the way modern traffic must be carried....The best bet for a new bridge over the Ohio [River] here is for Interstate-24 to come close to here and cross the river near Metropolis. This is our only hope for a new bridge until time really runs its course the way it did with covered bridges.<ref>Powell, Bill. "Cobb Bridge Was Fitting For Day Of The Star And Model T." ''Paducah Sun'', September 27, 1961, 6.</ref>}}
The nearby four-lane [[Interstate 24 Bridge]], three miles west of the Cobb bridge, was completed in 1973. The Cobb bridge—still the “Brookport bridge” to many locals—is presently challenging to cross, due to its very narrow lanes and steel grate deck. It is restricted to vehicles less than 8 feet (2.4 m) in width and 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) in height, preventing most commercial vehicles from using the bridge.
==See also== * {{Portal-inline|Transport}} * {{Portal-inline|Engineering}} * {{Portal-inline|United States}} * {{Portal-inline|Illinois}} * [[List of crossings of the Ohio River]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://bridgestunnels.com/location/brookport-paducah-bridge/ Brookport-Paducah Bridge] at Bridges & Tunnels ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210908222418/http://bridgestunnels.com/location/brookport-paducah-bridge/ archive]) *[http://BrookportBridge.com BrookportBridge.com] - Shows if the bridge is open or closed during winter weather. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210908214700/http://brookportbridge.com/ archive]) *[https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=illinois/brookport/ Brookport Bridge details] on historicbridges.org ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210908214706/https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=illinois%2Fbrookport%2F archive])
{{Crossings navbox |structure = Bridges |place = [[Ohio River]] |bridge = Brookport Bridge |bridge signs = [[File:US 45.svg|20px]] |downstream = [[Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge]] |downstream signs = [[File:I-24.svg|20px]] |upstream = [[Shawneetown Bridge]] |upstream signs = [[File:Elongated circle 56.svg|20px]] [[File:Illinois 13.svg|20px]] }} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Bridges over the Ohio River]] [[Category:Road bridges in Illinois]] [[Category:Road bridges in Kentucky]] [[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]] [[Category:Truss bridges in the United States]] [[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]] [[Category:U.S. Route 45]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Massac County, Illinois]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1929]] [[Category:Transportation in Massac County, Illinois]] [[Category:Transportation in McCracken County, Kentucky]] [[Category:1929 establishments in Kentucky]] [[Category:1929 establishments in Illinois]]