The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge (also known colloquially as the Big Mac Bridge), is a yellow twin span steel

bowstring arch bridge A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward horizontal forces of the arch(es) caused by tension at the arch ends to a foundation are countered by equal tension of its own gravity plus any element of the total deck structure such grea ...

crossing the Ohio River in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. It carries Interstate 471 between Cincinnati, Ohio, and

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a major ...

. As to the origin of this nickname, its yellow arches are said to be similar to the "

Golden Arches The Golden Arches are the symbol of McDonald's, the global fast food restaurant chain. Originally, real arches were part of the restaurant design. They were incorporated into the chain's logo in 1962, which resembled a stylized restaurant, and i ...

" logo of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

restaurant. The nickname was coined by local residents after the bridge's golden arches were constructed. In the 1980s, McDonald's considered opening a

floating restaurant A floating restaurant is a vessel, usually a large steel barge or hulk, used as a restaurant on water. The '' Jumbo Kingdom'', formerly located at Aberdeen in Hong Kong, was at one time the world's largest floating restaurant, until it sank a ...

at the base after the nickname caught on, but never went to construction. This bridge has a main span of and has a total span of . It is named in honor of

Daniel Carter Beard Daniel Carter "Uncle Dan" Beard (June 21, 1850 – June 11, 1941) was an American illustrator, author, youth leader, Georgist and social reformer who founded the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which Beard later merged with the Boy Scouts of Amer ...

, the founder of the

Sons of Daniel Boone The Sons of Daniel Boone (sometimes called the Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone), later the Boy Pioneers of America, was a youth program developed by Daniel Carter Beard in 1905 based on the American frontiersman. When Dan Beard joined the Bo ...

and one of the founders of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth partici ...

. The bridge was originally designed by Hazelet + Erdal, now URS Corporation. The bridge was originally configured with three lanes and an emergency shoulder on each span. In December 2000, with the completion of a reconstruction project on the 3rd Street Viaduct approach, the bridge was reconfigured to four lanes on each span.

References

External links

Daniel Carter Beard Bridge
at Bridges & Tunnels

at Cincinnati Transit * {{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place = Ohio River , bridge = Daniel Carter Beard Bridge , bridge signs = I-471

, upstream = Combs-Hehl Bridge , upstream signs = I-275

, downstream =

Newport Southbank Bridge The Newport Southbank Bridge, popularly known as the Purple People Bridge, stretches 2,670 feet over the Ohio River, connecting Newport, Kentucky to downtown Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. History The original bridge first opened on April 1, 18 ...

, downstream signs = Pedestrian

Beard A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. Throughout the course of history, societal a ...

Bridges completed in 1976 Newport, Kentucky Bridges over the Ohio River Tied arch bridges in the United States Road bridges in Kentucky Road bridges in Ohio Buildings and structures in Campbell County, Kentucky Interstate 71 1976 establishments in Kentucky Bridges on the Interstate Highway System 1976 establishments in Ohio Steel bridges in the United States Transportation in Campbell County, Kentucky

See also

References

External links