Purple People Bridge and Big Mac Bridge - Ohio River Cincinnati

© Christine Till - CT-Graphics ... more

by Alexandra Till

Title

Purple People Bridge and Big Mac Bridge - Ohio River Cincinnati

Artist

Alexandra Till

Medium

Photograph - Photographs - Prints - Digital Images - Cards - Posters - Photo-calendars - Photo Art

Description

© Christine Till - CT-Graphics
Purple People Bridge and Big Mac Bridge span the Ohio River between Cincinnati Ohio and Covington Kentucky.

The 'Purple People Bridge', a metal truss bridge, was opened as the Newport and Cincinnati Bridge on April 1, 1872. The bridge was the region''s first railroad crossing over the broad river, connecting Sawyer Point in Ohio with Newport-on-the-Levee in Kentucky. Over the course of the next 35 years, the bridge was retrofitted to accommodate streetcar, pedestrian and automobile traffic. It was renamed the Louisville and Nashville Bridge, and in 2003 became a pedestrian-only bridge. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At 17-feet-wide and 2,670 -feet-long (just over 1/2 mile) it is the longest pedestrian bridge in America that connects two states.

The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, opened in 1977, is a twin span steel tied-arch bridge that carries Interstate 471 between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky. It has a main span of 750 feet and has a total span of 2100 feet. Although named after the founder of the Boy Scouts, who was born and raised nearby, many locals, including traffic reporters, ignore the yellow bridge's official name and instead call it "The Big Mac Bridge" or the "McDonald's Bridge". As to the origin of this nickname, its yellow arches are similar to the "Golden Arches" logo of McDonald's restaurant. McDonald's considered opening a restaurant at the base after the nickname caught on, but never went to construction.

Uploaded

April 16th, 2012