Meridian Bridge Connects Continent from North to South

Meridian Bridge Connects Continent from North to South. . The Meridian Bridge has been an icon of Yankton and the Missouri River for many years. With its completion in 1924, the permanent structure spanning the river replaced unreliable ferries and seasonal pontoons. It derives its name from the Meridian Highway which provided a direct north-south route along the Sixth Principal Meridian through the central United States connecting Winnipeg, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. This road, extending through six states, was later rerouted and renamed as U.S. Highway 81. Local Yankton business owners organized the Meridian Bridge Company to get the bridge project underway. Initially the double-decker toll bridge was built for two-way traffic on the upper level and trains below with a vertical lift section that could raise twenty-seven feet to allow river traffic to pass underneath. The railroad never was built leaving the lower and upper decks to carry one-way automobile traffic in later years., The bridge survived several floods and maintained a safe passage from state to state regardless of river conditions. In 1953 the bridge was refurbished, and the tolls were removed; the lift mechanism was removed in 1983. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, and after being deemed unable to support modern highway traffic, it was replaced in 2008 by adjacent Discovery Bridge., In 2011 the bridge was reopened as a pedestrian bridge linking Yankton's Riverside Park to hiking trails on the south bank below the bridge., Lower left photos caption: , Early photos of the bridge portray the transportation it navigated both on the water and across it. , Below image: Flood of 1952, Lower right caption: , Bridge Facts, Length , 3,029 feet , Height , 18 feet , Rivets used , 75,000 , Initial toll , 50¢ , Steel construction , 3,500 tons , Lift span , 824 tons , Estimated cost , $1,300,000 , Lift span raised , 27 feet , Credit: Abby Bischoff