Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge

Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge
Siouxland Veterans Bridge, seen from the Nebraska side
Coordinates	42°29′15″N 96°24′49″W / 42.48750°N 96.41361°W
Carries	US 77
Crosses	Missouri River
Locale	Sioux City, Iowa and South Sioux City, Nebraska
Characteristics
Design	Through arch bridge
Total length	1,502.4 feet (457.9 m)
Width	63.0 feet (19.2 m)
Longest span	425.2 feet (129.6 m)
Clearance above	17.1 feet (5.2 m)
History
Opened	1981
Statistics
Daily traffic	28,600

The Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge is a through arch bridge which carries U.S. Route 77 across the Missouri River between Sioux City, Iowa and South Sioux City, Nebraska.^[1]

The bridge replaced the Combination Bridge, so called because it carried both rail and highway traffic, built in 1896. The new bridge was dedicated in July 1981, and the old one demolished. However, in May 1982 a 32-inch (810 mm) crack was discovered in the downstream tie girder. The bridge was hurriedly closed, and measures taken to ensure that it would not collapse into the river, affecting barge traffic. Initially, it was estimated that repairs would take six days; in fact, the bridge was completely closed for seven months, and did not fully re-open to traffic until May 1983.^[2][3][4]

See also

• Bridges portal
• Nebraska portal
• Iowa portal
• List of crossings of the Missouri River

References

1. Historic Bridges of the U.S. - Missouri River U.S. 77 Bridge
2. Linck, Michele. "Sioux City bridges have had their troubles, too". Sioux City Journal. 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
3. Weeks, John. "Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge". [John A. Weeks III.] Retrieved 2010-10-19.
4. Hanson, J. M., M. J. Koob, and G. T. Blake (1988). Abstract, "Tie girder fracture in Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge". Original paper appeared in Transportation Research Record, no. 1180.