Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge

Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge
A photo of the bridge taken from the Arkansas side.
Coordinates	33°17′37″N 91°09′34″W / 33.29361°N 91.15944°W / 33.29361; -91.15944
Carries	Formerly 2 lanes of US 82 / US 278
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Lake Village, Arkansas and Greenville, Mississippi
ID number	0000000000M1536
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever bridge
Total length	9,957 feet (3,035 m)
Width	24 feet (7 m)
Longest span	840 feet (256 m)
Clearance below	130 feet (40 m)
History
Opened	October 4, 1940
Closed	July 28, 2010

The Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge was a two-lane cantilevered truss bridge carrying U.S. Route 82/U.S. Route 278 across the Mississippi River between Lake Village, Arkansas and Greenville, Mississippi. It was the first bridge to connect the two towns. The bridge was named for Benjamin G. Humphreys II, a former United States Congressman from Greenville.

Hailed as progressive when it opened in 1940, it became functionally obsolete as vehicle and river traffic increased. Because of its narrow two lanes with no shoulders, the bridge often became blocked by accidents or by the crossing of large vehicles like farm equipment. Due to its location near a sharp bend in the Mississippi River, the bridge became a hazard to river traffic; barges and towboats frequently collided with it. In 1994, a study concluded that a new bridge was needed and the old one should be torn down.

A new bridge, the Greenville Bridge, was built as a replacement further downriver from the sharp bend. It opened in 2010. In 2011, work began to remove the Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge.

The Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge, very modern in its time, was a two lane, steel cantilevered truss bridge that carried US 82/278 over the Mississippi River, and connected the towns of Lake Village, Arkansas and Greenville, Mississippi by road for the first time. Prior to the bridge, local vehicles and local freight could only cross the river by ferry. It was named after Benjamin G. Humphreys, a US Congressman from Greensville who co-authored a flood control bill in 1917 establishing a national flood control program on the Mississippi, and promoted the concept of flood control to contain the river.

The bridge opened on October 4, 1940 to great fanfare. Its main span width was 840 feet (260 m), the highway bridge with the longest span on the Mississippi River. The width of the roadway was 24 feet (7.3 m)—two lanes of 12 feet (3.7 m) each—with no shoulders.