The Victory Bridge - Chattahoochee, Florida, USA - Orphaned Bridges on Waymarking.com

Built in 1922 by the Masters and Mullen Construction Company of Cleveland, Ohio at a cost of $1 million. This was the first bridge built across the Apalachicola River for automobile traffic. It replaced an earlier cabled ferry that crossed the river. It provided easy access for automobiles to cross the Apalachicola River that were traveling on the recently built Old Spanish Trail. The Old Spanish Trail was the first paved road to traverse the northern part of Florida, running from Jacksonville and St. Augustine to San Diego, California.

It took 3 years to build and it spanned the river just south of the junction of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. It was built as a joint undertaking of Gadsden and Jackson counties along with the federal government. The bridge originally had seven concrete arch spans of 110 feet each and a bascule lift span of 100 feet for river traffic. Three of the piers stood on pilings with the remaining six on limestone. The Gadsden County approach on the east side consisted of 19 concrete deck girders 40 feet long while the Jackson County side on the west consisted of four similar spans. The entire structure was 2100 feet long, with a 1000 foot long approach across Pope Lake on the western side of the river. Approximately 1,200,000 pounds of steel and 12,000 cubic yards of concrete were used to construct the bridge. The bridge was designed by James Austin Mortland who was a bridge engineer for the Florida State Roads Department. The bascule lift which is of the Strauss type was fabricated by the Converse Bridge Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee and erected by the Pensacola Shipbuilding Company of Pensacola, Florida. The approaches were built by the A. Bentley and Sons Company of Jacksonville, Florida. It was named the ‘Victory Bridge’ in honor of the Allied victory of World War I. It was dedicated on June 20, 1922 with the paddlewheel steamship the John W. Callahan being the first vessel to pass through the bascule lift.

After the Jim Woodruff Dam was built in 1947 there was on longer any need for the drawbridge due to river traffic being being blocked from travel upstream. A medium level bridge was completed in 1996 to replace the deteriorating Victory Bridge. Parts of the Victory Bridge were dismantled and removed. Portions of the bridge remain and are accessible both from the east and west sides. The east side offers some of the best viewing and is easily accessible from the Chattahoochee River Landing Park. This park has ample parking, picnic tables, restrooms and offers opportunities to photograph and view the bridge from a number of angles.

Original Use: Vehicle - Car / Truck Date Built: 1922 Construction: Concrete Condition: Dangerous Date Abandoned: 1996 Bridge Status - Orphaned or Adopted.: Orphaned See this website for more information: Not listed

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