Rating:
6 votes

O'Neal Bridge

Colbert County, Alabama, and Lauderdale County, Alabama

Photos 

Photo taken by James McCray in August 2010

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BH Photo #173385

Map 

Street Views 

Facts 

Overview
Cantilevered Warren continuous through truss bridge over Tennessee River on US 43 between Florence and Sheffield
Location
Florence, Colbert County, Alabama, and Lauderdale County, Alabama
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1939 by the Virginia Bridge Company
Builder
- Virginia Bridge Co. of Roanoke, Virginia
Design
Cantilevered Warren through truss and Warren deck truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 420.0 ft.
Total length: 2,071.0 ft. (0.4 mi.)
Deck width: 46.6 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.3 ft.
Also called
Tennessee River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+34.78274, -87.67113   (decimal degrees)
34°46'58" N, 87°40'16" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/438596/3849155 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Florence
Average daily traffic (as of 2017)
27,850
Inventory numbers
AL 1901 (Alabama bridge number)
BH 36057 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of September 2017)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 45.1 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Alabama (971)
Built 1939 (771)
Built during 1930s (11,749)
Cantilevered (306)
Cantilevered truss (250)
Colbert County, Alabama (26)
County line crossing (533)
Deck truss (1,731)
Florence, Alabama (8)
Have street view (26,938)
Lauderdale County, Alabama (38)
Navigable waterway (2,152)
 Open (39,880)
Owned by state (15,983)
Span length 250-500 feet (1,196)
Tennessee River (44)
Through truss (15,053)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,883)
Truss (32,773)
US 43 (3)
Virginia Bridge Co. (53)
Warren deck truss (604)
Warren through truss (1,615)
Warren truss (6,563)

Update Log 

  • February 13, 2020: New photo from Ben Tate
  • August 10, 2015: Updated by Andy Peters: adds Florence Times Daily article about rehab
  • August 3, 2011: New photos from Ben Tate
  • August 22, 2010: New photos from James McCray
  • July 2, 2010: Updated by Nathan Holth: Updated bridge type and GPS.

Sources 

  • Nathan Holth
  • James McCray - jamesinslocomb [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Ben Tate - benji5221 [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Andy Peters - anpete1971 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Florence Times Daily - Aug. 10, 2015
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Comments 

O'Neal Bridge
Posted February 13, 2020, by Ben Tate (benji5221 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

Here it is with the walkway still in place.

O'Neal Bridge
Posted February 13, 2020, by Glyn Robinson (contactbluebird [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Any photos of the bridge before the walkway was removed?

O'Neal Bridge
Posted July 29, 2019, by Stephen Peifer (sfpeifer [at] gmail [dot] com)

Another photo of O'Neal Bridge construction in 1939.

O'Neal Bridge
Posted July 29, 2019, by Stephen Peifer (sfpeifer [at] gmail [dot] com)

My father, F.J. Peifer, was a young civil engineer fresh out of college when he worked on the O'Neal Bridge in 1939. It was constructed by the Virginia Bridge Company, which years later merged with American Bridge of U.S. Steel. Attached is a photo of the bridge under construction in 1939.

O'Neal Bridge
Posted April 18, 2011, by Ben Tate

In some of the photos you can see the entrance to the former walking lane. The only entrances left are on the south side of the bridge. Up until about the late 1980s, these entraces went below the bridge and came up to the center where there was a pedestrian walking lane. It was eventually removed so the lanes could be widened.

Tennessee River Bridge
Posted March 30, 2009, by Ed Truitt

The official name of this bridge is the O'Neal Bridge, named for Gov. Edward A. O'Neal of Alabama.

It runs between Florence, Alabama, in Lauderdale County, and Sheffield, Alabama, in Colbert County. The town of Muscle Shoals in Colbert County abuts Sheffield.