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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 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.
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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. The bridge's final cost was approximately $ 2 million, and it was used by approximately 1200 automobiles on its first day in operation.
876:
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the bridge—began on March 24. The bridge was designed by the Kansas City firm of
Harrington, Howard and Ashe, and construction was superintended by Chicago's P.W. Chapman & Company. The Paducah-Ohio River Bridge Company would be the bridge's legal owner-operator. The final obstacle to groundbreaking was surmounted upon obtaining the War Department's approval for the project on July 22.
296:—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. The lawsuit was heard in Louisville on June 9 in the U.S. District Court in Louisville.
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331:, 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.
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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
307:
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, and the reduction was made permanent in June. By 1939, an average of 1000
300:
Delaware-registered corporation supervised by the bondholders, the
Kentucky-Illinois Bridge Corporation, for $ 300,000. 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 1931-1932-1933 alone totaled $ 457,509.40.
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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. Sunday toll discounts, implemented
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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. The Paducah-Brookport Bridge officially
280:
signed the bill on
February 23. 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. Traffic surveys—preliminaries to siting
303:
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. On July 10, the state formally awarded $ 800,000 in bridge bonds, paying 3-1/2% annually for 20 years, to the
299:
In 1932, the
Paducah-Brookport Bridge Company indicated its willingness to explore a sale to the State of Kentucky. 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
289:
soon after the bridge's opening, boosted tourism to Paducah and Brookport. 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.
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Kentucky-Illinois Bridge Company, the bonds to be underwritten primarily through tolls; the bond transfer would be completed by August 15.
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introduced a bill authorizing the Paducah Board of Trade to construct the bridge. Following House and Senate passage, President
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In November 1943, the structure was renamed the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge as a tribute to the state's famed journalist-humorist
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vehicles daily were using the bridge. In February 1941, the toll for automobiles was again reduced, to 15 cents.
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716:"Prices Slashed: Toll on Paducah-Brookport Bridge Cut to Half Price on Passenger Cars" (advertisement).
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By the 1960s, a Paducah newspaper columnist was among those hoping for a modern replacement:
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612:"Reduced Fare! Paducah-Brookport Bridge Effective August 150" (advertisement).
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Powell, Bill. "Cobb Bridge Was Fitting For Day Of The Star And Model T."
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Ward, Henry. "$ 300,000 Paid for Paducah Span to Protect Mortgage."
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Ward, Henry. "Bridge Gross Income for 6 Years Averaged $ 69,000."
560:"Announce Toll Rates on the New Paducah-Brookport Traffic Span."
824:- Shows if the bridge is open or closed during winter weather. (
236:
since 1943) is a ten-span, steel deck (grate), narrow two-lane
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315:, a Paducah native. That same month, tolls were eliminated.
521:"How Paducah-Brookport Bridge Will Span the Mighty Ohio."
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573:"2 Million Dollar Span Over Ohio is Open to Traffic."
951:
Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
482:"Preliminary Work on Bridge Survey is Begun Today."
456:"President Signs Bill for Highway Span at Paducah."
961:
Buildings and structures in Massac County, Illinois
638:"Judge Dawson to Hear Big Damage Suit on Monday."
547:"State Would Buy Paducah Bridge to Make It Free."
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742:"Further Gains Are Reported In Bridge Traffic."
443:"Seek Authority from House to Span Ohio Here."
966:Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky
846:
469:"Bid Accepted for Paducah-Brookport Bridge."
981:Transportation in McCracken County, Kentucky
508:"Barr to Confer with Directors of Bridge."
422:Baughn, James; et al. (July 9, 2005).
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292:On October 23, 1929, a river steamer, the
272:On February 4, 1927, Kentucky congressman
976:Transportation in Massac County, Illinois
768:"Paducah Bridge To Be Named For Cobb."
918:
421:
845:
755:"Reduced Toll Fare" (advertisement).
586:"Paducah’s Bridge Film at Columbia."
534:"Bridge Approved by War Department."
389:List of crossings of the Ohio River
13:
946:Truss bridges in the United States
941:Steel bridges in the United States
14:
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805:
781:"Free Brookport Bridge Nov. 24."
599:"New Bridge is Travel Stimulus."
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196:9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
158:5,385.8 ft (1,641.6 m)
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991:1929 establishments in Illinois
986:1929 establishments in Kentucky
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134:Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
690:"Kentucky Buys Paducah Span."
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18:Bridge in KY and Brookport, IL
1:
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731:The Park City (KY) Daily News
495:"Bridge Sites are Surveyed."
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746:, September 14, 1939, 1, 17.
729:"Toll Charges are Reduced."
627:Evansville Courier and Press
174:711.0 ft (216.7 m)
7:
926:Bridges over the Ohio River
692:Danville Advocate-Messenger
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814:at Bridges & Tunnels (
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971:Bridges completed in 1929
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703:"State Pays for Bridge."
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936:Road bridges in Kentucky
931:Road bridges in Illinois
834:on historicbridges.org (
832:Brookport Bridge details
812:Brookport-Paducah Bridge
798:, September 27, 1961, 6.
409:"ArcGIS Web Application"
372:United States portal
244:(US 45) across the
230:Paducah-Brookport Bridge
785:, November 19, 1943, 1.
772:, November 16, 1943, 4.
759:, February 9, 1941, 14.
720:, February 27, 1938, 8.
460:, February 24, 1927, 1.
651:"Our Paducah Bridge."
629:, January 8, 1930, 16.
616:, August 13, 1929, 12.
447:, February 5, 1927, 1.
360:Engineering portal
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248:in the U.S. states of
562:Paducah News-Democrat
549:Paducah News-Democrat
536:Paducah News-Democrat
525:, August 24, 1927, 1.
523:Paducah News-Democrat
510:Paducah News-Democrat
497:Paducah News-Democrat
484:Paducah News-Democrat
471:Paducah News-Democrat
458:Paducah News-Democrat
445:Paducah News-Democrat
327:The nearby four-lane
320:
274:Alben William Barkley
66:37.11465°N 88.62915°W
897:Interstate 24 Bridge
783:Paducah Sun-Democrat
770:Park City Daily News
757:Paducah Sun-Democrat
744:Paducah Sun-Democrat
718:Paducah Sun-Democrat
707:, July 10, 1935, 10.
705:Paducah Sun-Democrat
681:, March 14, 1935, 1.
679:Paducah Sun-Democrat
668:, March 12, 1935, 1.
666:Paducah Sun-Democrat
653:Paducah Sun-Democrat
640:Paducah Sun-Democrat
614:Paducah Sun-Democrat
601:Paducah Sun-Democrat
588:Paducah Sun-Democrat
577:, April 15, 1929, 1.
575:Paducah Sun-Democrat
564:, April 10, 1929, 1.
551:, March 19, 1928, 1.
486:, March 18, 1927, 1.
473:, March 18, 1927, 1.
348:Transport portal
329:Interstate 24 Bridge
234:Irvin S. Cobb Bridge
125:Irvin S. Cobb Bridge
822:BrookportBridge.com
733:, June 22, 1938, 1.
603:, June 17, 1929, 1.
538:, July 23, 1927, 1.
512:, July 20, 1927, 6.
499:, June 21, 1927, 1.
384:Illinois portal
262:Brookport, Illinois
71:37.11465; -88.62915
62: /
866:Shawneetown Bridge
694:, May 15, 1935, 1.
655:, July 8, 1932, 4.
642:, June 8, 1930, 9.
590:, May 14, 1929, 2.
424:"Brookport Bridge"
242:U.S. Route 45
186:(13,607.8 kg)
37:The bridge in 2022
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258:Paducah, Kentucky
232:1929–43, and the
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206:Construction end
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140:Characteristics
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130:Maintained by
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116:Brookport, IL
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238:truss bridge
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171:Longest span
155:Total length
149:Truss bridge
15:
796:Paducah Sun
260:, north to
112:Paducah, KY
85:2 lanes of
69: /
44:Coordinates
920:Categories
893:Downstream
849:Ohio River
395:References
246:Ohio River
184:short tons
179:Load limit
102:Ohio River
92:US 45
57:88°37′45″W
54:37°06′53″N
429:August 1,
862:Upstream
335:See also
294:Chaperon
254:Kentucky
250:Illinois
214:Location
836:archive
826:archive
816:archive
268:History
201:History
98:Crosses
82:Carries
145:Design
108:Locale
163:Width
431:2007
252:and
224:The
209:1929
114:and
182:15
922::
264:.
838:)
828:)
818:)
433:.
411:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
