Gateway Boulevard Bridge
"Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge"
Nashville’s Gateway Bridge continues to
garner national attention for its innovative design and construction.
In August 2005, the city’s newest signature structure won
top honor in the “Major Span” category in the National
Steel Bridge Alliance 2005 Prize Bridge Competition.
Then, in November 2005, Gateway made Roads & Bridges magazine’s
Top 10 Bridges List for 2005. The structure was Number 9 on the
overall list, and graced the front cover of the magazine’s
November 2005 edition.
Hailed as the “new front door” to Nashville, the
Gateway Bridge opened in May 2004 reconnecting neighborhoods
in East Nashville and the Downtown area. It replaced the historic
Shelby Street Bridge, which was closed to vehicle traffic in
1998 and subsequently re-opened as the city’s landmark
Pedestrian Bridge in 2003. In early 2006, the Metro Council approved
naming Gateway the "Korean Way Veterans Memorial Bridge" to
honor the more than 134,000 Tennesseans in military service during
the Korean War from 1950-1953.
Among the interesting facts and featured “firsts” about Gateway:
- Bridge Type -- Fixed, through-arch structure; Tennessee’s first
- Length -- 1,660 ft
- Main Span -- 571 ft; downtown Nashville’s first “clear” span over the Cumberland River
- Width -- 102 ft
- Height -- 192 ft (78 ft from river to slab)
- Deck Support -- 72 cables for a total of 4589 ft of cables = 0.87 mile
- Amount of Structural Steel -- approximately 5.9 million pounds = 2950 tons
- Number of Bolts -- approximately 46,000 bolts
- Length of Concrete Beams -- 11,362 ft = 2.15 miles
- Amount of Concrete in Bridge Deck -- 5688 yd3 = approximately 570 trucks
- Lighting -- 26 Street Lights and 18 Accent Lights
Gateway
Boulevard Update
The
first roadway section of the Gateway Boulevard, between
1st Avenue South and 4th Avenue South, opened to traffic
on February 14, 2006, providing additional access and a
direct east-west traffic route between Interstate 24/65
and the SoBro area of downtown Nashville.
Future plans call for the Boulevard eventually to be extended to 8th Avenue South.
Gateway Boulevard Vicinity Map View