# Frisco Bridge > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Frisco_Bridge > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Frisco_Bridge.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisco_Bridge > Source revision: 1285850428 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox Bridge |bridge_name= Frisco Bridge |image= Memphis, Harahan, and Hernando de Soto Bridges.jpg |image_size=300px |caption= The Frisco Bridge (center) in 1985. It is flanked by the [Memphis & Arkansas Bridge](/source/Memphis_%26_Arkansas_Bridge) (left) and [Harahan Bridge](/source/Harahan_Bridge) (right) |official_name= |also_known_as= |carries= [BNSF Railway](/source/BNSF_Railway) |crosses= [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River) |locale= [West Memphis, Arkansas](/source/West_Memphis%2C_Arkansas) and [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee) |maint= [BNSF Railway](/source/BNSF_Railway) |id= |design= [Cantilevered](/source/Cantilever_bridge) through [Truss bridge](/source/Truss_bridge) |mainspan= {{convert|791|ft|m|0}} |length= {{convert|4887|ft|m|0}} |width= {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} |clearance= |below= {{convert|109|ft|m|0}} |num_track= 1 |traffic= 32.9 trains per day ({{as of|2014|lc=y}}){{cite report |type=Grant application |author=[Missouri Department of Transportation](/source/Missouri_Department_of_Transportation) |title=The Merchants Bridge rehabilitation program |year=2017 |at=Figure 10: Rail Traffic Volumes Overlaid with Seismic Hazard, 2014 |url=https://www.modot.org/sites/default/files/documents/TheMerchantsBridgeRehabilitationProgram110217Final%5B1%5D.pdf#page=15}} |open= May 12, 1892 |closed= |toll= |map_cue= |map_image= |map_text= |map_width= |coordinates= {{coord|35|07|43|N|90|04|35|W|region:US_type:landmark}} }} thumb|The bridge in 2022 The '''Frisco Bridge''', previously known as the '''Memphis Bridge''', is a [cantilevered](/source/Cantilever_bridge) through [truss bridge](/source/truss_bridge)[https://bridgehunter.com/tn/shelby/frisco/ Bridge Hunter Historic Bridge Page] carrying a rail line across the [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River) between [West Memphis, Arkansas](/source/West_Memphis%2C_Arkansas), and [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee). ==Construction== At the time of the Memphis bridge construction, it was a significant technological challenge and is considered to be chief engineer [George S. Morison](/source/George_S._Morison_(engineer))'s crowning achievement. No other bridges had ever been attempted on the [Lower Mississippi River](/source/Lower_Mississippi_River). The bridge is built entirely of [open-hearth steel](/source/Open_hearth_furnace), a newly developed material at the time of construction. The structure features a {{Convert|790|ft|m|adj=on}} main span and two additional {{Convert|600|ft|m|adj=on}} spans. Its {{Convert|65|ft|m|adj=on}} height above the water was the highest clearance of any U.S. bridge of that era. The construction of the piers went nearly {{Convert|100|ft|m}} below the water's surface. Though some sources claim two cantilevered roadways were added to the bridge in the 1930s, one on each side,[https://live.asce.org/hh/?lid=116 American Society of Civil Engineers: Morison's Memphis Bridge] they probably confuse this bridge with the neighboring [Harahan Bridge](/source/Harahan_Bridge), which had two cantilevered roadways from 1917 until the [Memphis & Arkansas Bridge](/source/Memphis_%26_Arkansas_Bridge) opened in 1949. (The former roadway on the north side of the Harahan Bridge is now designated as [Big River Crossing](/source/Harahan_Bridge), having been refitted to carry pedestrian and bicycle traffic across the Mississippi River in 2016.) While the Frisco Bridge has not featured cantilevered roadways, pedestrians, buggies, and some automobiles used its main deck before the Harahan Bridge opened (the bridge was closed to such traffic while a train was crossing).{{Cite web |url=https://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/pages/lmiss20.html |title=Frisco Bridge, Memphis, TN |last=Weeks |first=John A. III |work=Highways & Bridges}} Construction for the [Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railway](/source/Kansas_City%2C_Fort_Scott_and_Memphis_Railway), later acquired by the "[Frisco](/source/St._Louis%E2%80%93San_Francisco_Railway)," began in 1888 and was completed May 12, 1892. In the end the project created a bridge that was the farthest south on the Mississippi River, featured the longest truss span in the [United States](/source/United_States) and cost nearly 3 million dollars.{{Cite web |url=https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ne/ne0000/ne0042/data/ne0042data.pdf |title=Nebraska City Bridge |last=Fraser |first=Clayton B. |date=October 1986 |website=[Historic American Engineering Record](/source/Historic_American_Engineering_Record) |publisher=[Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress) |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=315–380 |access-date=October 19, 2018}} A testament to its design and construction, the bridge is still used by [BNSF Railway](/source/BNSF_Railway) and is being renovated as part of a system-wide BNSF infrastructure improvement program.{{Cite news |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2016/06/11/historic-frisco-bridge-getting-extensive-makeover-by-bnsf/90563822/ |title=Historic Frisco Bridge getting extensive makeover by BNSF |work=The Commercial Appeal |access-date=2017-10-01 |language=en}} The west approach to the bridge, which was made of 52 spans totaling {{convert|340|ft}} in length, was replaced by a new 27-span bridge. This project was completed in 2017.{{Cite news |title=Strand Jacking Optimizes Scheduling and Cost Efficiency in Rail Bridge Overhaul |page=20 |work=Engineering News-Record |date=January 8, 2018}} The bridge was designated as a [National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark](/source/National_Historic_Civil_Engineering_Landmark) in 1987.{{cite news |last=Waddell |first=Lisa |date=October 5, 1987 |title=Historic bridge to be designated as landmark of civil engineering |work=The Commercial Appeal |location=Memphis |page=B4}} ==See also== *[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Arkansas](/source/List_of_bridges_documented_by_the_Historic_American_Engineering_Record_in_Arkansas) *[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Tennessee](/source/List_of_bridges_documented_by_the_Historic_American_Engineering_Record_in_Tennessee) *[List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River](/source/List_of_crossings_of_the_Lower_Mississippi_River) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{Structurae|id=20001382|title=Frisco Bridge}} *{{HAER |survey=TN-14 |id=tn0207 |title=Memphis Bridge |photos=61 |cap=4}} *{{HAER |survey=NE-2 |id=ne0042 |title=Nebraska City Bridge |photos=59 |dwgs=3 |data=511 |cap=3}}, discusses Chief Engineer George S. Morison and his many bridges, including nearly 50 pages about the Memphis Bridge (Frisco Bridge). *[https://condrenrails.com/MRP/Memphis-bridges.htm The Memphis Railroad Bridges] *[https://condrenrails.com/MRP/Memphis-Bridges/Frisco-Railroad-Bridge.htm The Frisco Bridge] *[https://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?offset=0&where=||||||||1|||||||BNSF%20Thayer%20South%20Sub%20-%20Frisco%20Bridge|||||||||||||||||||&newsort=2 Recent Photos of the Frisco Bridge] {{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River) |bridge = Frisco Bridge |bridge signs = ''BNSF Railway'' |upstream = [Harahan Bridge](/source/Harahan_Bridge) |upstream signs = ''Union Pacific Railroad'' |downstream = [Memphis & Arkansas Bridge](/source/Memphis_%26_Arkansas_Bridge) |downstream signs = 20px20px20px20px20px }} {{Memphis, Tennessee}} Category:Truss bridges in the United States Category:Railroad bridges in Arkansas Category:Railroad bridges in Tennessee Category:Bridges over the Mississippi River Category:Bridges in Memphis, Tennessee Category:Bridges completed in 1892 Category:BNSF Railway bridges Category:St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Category:Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Category:Transportation in Crittenden County, Arkansas Category:Buildings and structures in West Memphis, Arkansas Category:Steel bridges in the United States Category:Cantilever bridges in the United States Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Arkansas Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Tennessee Category:Interstate railroad bridges in the United States Category:1892 establishments in Arkansas Category:1892 establishments in Tennessee --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Frisco Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisco_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisco_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.