Bridges of Chattanooga BW 8 Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge John Chief Ross Bridge Architectural Art

by Reid Callaway

Title

Bridges of Chattanooga BW 8 Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge John Chief Ross Bridge Architectural Art

Artist

Reid Callaway

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Bridges of Chattanooga B&W 8.....by Reid Callaway
Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge Chief John Ross Bridge Architectural Art

The Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge is actually an old rail road truss style bridge transformed into a pedestrian walkway in the downtown section of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Captured late in the evening just after a group of thunderstorms rolled thru Chattanooga, Tennessee and this beautiful scene emerged. Three bridges can be seen in this one image along with mountains and the many fine hotels and a riverboat that is docked at the shoreline.

Built in 1890, the 2,376 feet (724 m) Walnut Street Bridge was the first to connect Chattanooga, Tennessee's downtown with the North Shore. According to a plaque on the bridge, Edwin Thacher was the chief engineer for the bridge. The bridge's superstructure was assembled by the Smith Bridge Company of Toledo, Ohio, which was a prolific late 19th-century bridge builder. The bridge's substructure was constructed by Neeley, Smith, and Company of Chattanooga. Most of the parts for the bridge were manufactured by Manly Jail Works of Dalton, Georgia and then shipped to the site by rail. The bridge's main spans are pin-connected Pennsylvania through truss spans. The top chord of these truss spans are configured in five sections, making the spans similar to the Camelback truss design. The bridge is historically significant as an extremely long and old example of its type; according to the Historic American Engineering Record: "The bridge was apparently the first non-military highway bridge across the Tennessee River."

The Market Street Bridge can be seen just behind the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge.
Market Street or Chief John Ross Bridge

The Market Street Bridge, officially referred to as the Chief John Ross Bridge, is a bascule bridge that spans the Tennessee River between downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Northshore District. It carries North Market Street (formerly designated as U.S. Highway 127), and was named in honor of Cherokee Chief John Ross. The bridge was completed in 1917 at a cost of $1 million.

The bridge has concrete arch spans flanking a center draw span, which is a steel truss with double-leaf Scherzer rolling lift bascule mechanism. At the time of its completion in 1917, the 300-foot (91 m) main span was the longest rolling-lift bascule span in the world. Vehicular traffic originally included streetcars, but streetcar service across the bridge ended in the 1930s. The bridge was formally renamed the Chief John Ross Bridge in 1950.

The bridge closed in 2005 for a renovation, but reopened on August 4, 2007, ahead of its originally scheduled September completion date. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 2010.

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October 31st, 2022

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