Mormon Bridge | |
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Mormon Bridge from Omaha, Nebraska going into Iowa. The original bridge is the east bound bridge on the right.
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Coordinates | 41°20′44″N 95°57′26″W / 41.345556°N 95.957222°WCoordinates: 41°20′44″N 95°57′26″W / 41.345556°N 95.957222°W |
Carries | 4 lanes of I‑680 |
Crosses | Missouri River |
Locale | Pottawattamie County, Iowa and Florence, Nebraska |
Other name(s) | Missouri River I-680 Bridge |
Characteristics | |
Design | Twin Cantilever Through truss bridge |
Total length | 1,603.1 feet (489 m) |
Longest span | 128 m |
Clearance above | 18.1 feet (6 m) |
History | |
Opened | 1952 (eastbound) 1975 (westbound) |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 7,845 |
The Mormon Bridge are two cantilever bridges that cross the Missouri River connecting Pottawattamie County, Iowa with Florence in the north end of Omaha, Nebraska via Interstate 680 (Iowa-Nebraska).
The first bridge was finished in 1952 after an unsuccessful attempt in 1936 to build a bridge at the same site. It originally connected Nebraska Highway 36 with unsigned Iowa Highway 988. It was originally a toll bridge operated by the North Omaha Bridge Commission with $3,450,000 in bonds. It was officially called the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge but in common usage it has been called the Mormon Bridge and got its name because the Mormon Trail passed nearby. Spencer W. Kimball, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), was the last to pay the toll on April 21, 1979 when the second bridge to the north of the original bridge was added, and it became part of the Interstate Highway System.