The Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge was a Whipple through

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

that was the first road bridge to cross the Missouri River connecting

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was replaced in 1966 by the Interstate 480 girder bridge.

History

Originally called the Douglas Street Bridge, the bridge was built by the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company in 1888 at a cost of $500,000. It was designed to handle

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

s and replaced a ferry service that had opened in 1854. It was originally built as a single bridge. Due to increased demand, they built a twin sister bridge next to the existing one. It was the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

bridge from 1913 to 1930. (Notice the L for Lincoln Highway in the picture.) It was then the Highway 30 bridge, then Highway 30A, then Highway 30 S until its destruction.

Tolls

It was a toll bridge. As automobiles became more popular, there were resentments about the tolls. In 1895, a group of businessmen formed the "

Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation is a 501(c)(3) civic and philanthropic organization in Omaha, Nebraska. History The organization was formed in 1895 in an attempt to keep the Nebraska State Fair in Omaha after receiving an ultimatum to provide ...

" ("Nebraska" spelled backward). In 1938, they sold bonds to finance the purchase of the bridge for $2,350,000. They continued to charge tolls until 1947, at which point the bonds were paid off and the structure, along with the South Omaha Bridge, became free bridges. The hated toll booths were paraded through Omaha before a crowd of 35,000 observers to celebrate Free Bridge Day on September 24, 1947. The estimated traffic on the bridge doubled the following year.

Replacement and removal

It was replaced in November 1966 with an unnamed I-480 girder bridge (I-480 was to go on and be named the "

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Freeway" after the native son President). Attempts were made to salvage the bridge as a pedestrian walkway, but it was demolished in 1968 although the east pier remains in the river just south of the interstate on the Council Bluffs side.

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

overlaps the interstate to cross the river.

References

External links

"Douglas Street Bridge"

Omaha Public Library Omaha Public Library is the public library system of the city of Omaha, Nebraska. A library association was founded in 1857, but the library board was not appointed until 1877. In 1895, the library became one of the first six in the nation to cr ...

. {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place = Missouri River , bridge = Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Interstate 480 bridge , upstream signs = , downstream =

Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge The Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge is a rail truss bridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. History When the first railroad bridge on the site opened on March 27, 1872, it connected the First tr ...

, downstream signs = ''Union Pacific Railroad'' Bridges in Omaha, Nebraska Road bridges in Nebraska Buildings and structures in Council Bluffs, Iowa Bridges over the Missouri River Bridges completed in 1888 Demolished buildings and structures in Omaha, Nebraska Demolished bridges in the United States Bridges in Pottawattamie County, Iowa Road bridges in Iowa Former toll bridges in Iowa Former toll bridges in Nebraska Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights Buildings and structures demolished in 1968 Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States 1888 establishments in Iowa 1888 establishments in Nebraska 1968 disestablishments in Iowa 1968 disestablishments in Nebraska

History

Tolls

Replacement and removal

See also

References

External links