Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge

Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge
The bridges as seen from the scenic overlook on the South Dakota side.
Coordinates	42°46′12″N 97°59′22″W / 42.77000°N 97.98944°W / 42.77000; -97.98944
Carries	N-14/SD 37
Crosses	Missouri river
Locale	Niobrara, Nebraska
Characteristics
Design	Stringer/Multi-beam or girder
Material	Steel
Total length	2,953.2 feet (900.1 m)
Width	37.7 feet (11.5 m)
No. of spans	16
History
Construction begin	1996-04-20
Inaugurated	1998-08-29
Statistics
Daily traffic	555 (as of 2008)

The Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge is a bridge across the Missouri River at the Nebraska-South Dakota border. Located near Niobrara, Nebraska, not far downstream from the confluence of the Niobrara River with the Missouri, it joins Nebraska Highway 14 to South Dakota Highway 37.

The bridge is named for Standing Bear, a Ponca chief born and buried nearby, who was the plaintiff in Standing Bear v. Crook, a landmark 1879 U.S. District Court case that established the legal rights of Native Americans to move about freely.

Before the bridge was constructed, Highway 14 ended at the Missouri. Travellers who needed to cross the river had to detour 45 miles (72 km) downstream to the Meridian Bridge at Yankton, South Dakota, or 60 miles (97 km) upstream to Fort Randall Dam near Pickstown, South Dakota. A seasonal ferry, closed in the winter, crossed the river at Niobrara for some time; but it ceased operation in 1984.

Local residents had sought a bridge since the 1920s. Construction of a toll bridge began in 1931; but it was ended by the Great Depression. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt vetoed a bill passed by the U.S. Congress that would have allowed construction to proceed; in 1940, he signed a revised bill to permit construction, but the shortage of materials caused by World War II thwarted it. A third effort was stymied by the Korean War; a fourth attempt failed in the early 1980s.