Shelby Street Bridge - Nashville, Tennessee
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 36° 09.698 W 086° 46.387
16S E 520406 N 4001899
Historic bridge over the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee.
Waymark Code: WMGMK0
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 03/20/2013
Views: 13
"The Shelby Street Bridge (sometimes called the Shelby Avenue Bridge) is a truss bridge that spans the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was originally opened on July 5, 1909, and was reopened as a pedestrian bridge on August 3, 2003. The bridge spans 960 m (3,150 ft) and is one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world.
The Shelby Street Bridge was originally known as the Sparkman Street Bridge and was built one block south of Broadway, connecting Sparkman Street and Shelby Avenue. The bridge was constructed at a cost of about $475,000. Another bridge called the Jefferson Street Bridge which was virtually identical to it was built at the same time. The Jefferson Street Bridge was opened a year after the Sparkman Street Bridge. The substructures of the bridges were light grey concrete, and the superstructures were made of steel that had been painted black.
The bridge was the first in North America to have concrete arched trusses.
The bridge was designed and construction was supervised by Howard M. Jones, the chief office engineer of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. The original architectural drawings as approved by Jones are archived at the Metro Transportation Offices.
After twenty-five years of use, it became apparent that there was something wrong with the concrete on the Sparkman Street Bridge. The worn surfaces of the concrete were chipped away between 1927 and 1930 and replaced with gunite.
Thirty years later, repair work had to be done again. The Standard Engineering Company of Albany, New York was hired to repair the weathered bridge. They subcontracted the steel work to the Nashville Bridge Company. During this repair time, the Jefferson Street Bridge was also repaired.
In 1998 the Shelby Street Bridge was admitted to the National Register of Historic Places, due mainly to the unique truss design. Both the Shelby Street Bridge and the Jefferson Street Bridge were considered. The Jefferson Street Bridge was rejected because of its similarity to the Shelby Street Bridge and the fact that the Shelby Street Bridge was in better condition. The Jefferson Street Bridge was demolished in 1990 to make way for a new bridge that could handle more traffic.
State inspectors declared the bridge to be in "poor" condition in 1992, and the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1998. The bridge was originally slated for demolition. However, due to aesthetic, architectural, and historical considerations, it was decided that it should be converted to a pedestrian bridge rather than be demolished. The success of the Walnut Street Bridge as a part of Chattanooga's urban renewal efforts was a major consideration in keeping the bridge.
Due to the bridge's iconic status as a Nashville landmark, it is often seen in country music videos. The video for "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", the first hit single by Big & Rich, was shot entirely on the Shelby Street Bridge. The video for Emerson Drive's 2007 hit single "Moments" was also filmed on and under the bridge. Several scenes from the 2011 video for "Together You and I" by Dolly Parton were filmed on the bridge." - Wikipedia
Original Use: Vehicle - Car / Truck
Date Built: 1909
Construction: Steel
Condition: Good
See this website for more information: [Web Link]
Date Abandoned: 1998
Bridge Status - Orphaned or Adopted.: Adopted
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