Because of trees and privately owned land, it is difficult to get a side view of the Helena Bridge. That lack of a side view hides the fact that this is very long bridge. The superstructure has 5 spans covering 3/5 of a mile, a total length that is longer than the I-10 bridge in Baton Rouge or the Business US-90 bridge in New Orleans. When you cross this bridge, it seems to forever. The river crossing spans from levee to levee, resulting in approach roads are relatively short and steep. Add in the narrow bridge deck, and you have a bridge that many people find to be a white-knuckle experience.

I would enjoy learning why this bridge was built at this location. Helena is a very small town, and, at least today, has very little going on. The opposite side of the river has nothing but a small casino. I would think that there were other more populated areas that could have made better use of this bridge. It is true that Helena was a major cotton and shipping center during the riverboat era, but those industries were largely a memory by the time this bridge was constructed in the late 1950s. Mark Twain, however, felt otherwise. He stated that Helena occupied the prettiest location on the Mississippi River. Many restored period homes still exist in the city. In fact, Twain help raise funds to build the nearby Delta Cultural Center.

The Helena Bridge was struck by a dragline crane as it was being towed upriver on July 15, 1997, resulting in the bridge being closed. A temporary pedestrian bridge was brought in to cross the damaged area of the bridge. A shuttle service was established to transport people from the marina on the west side of the river to the pedestrian bridge, where the passengers would cross the damaged section using the temporary bridge, and then be picked up by a second shuttle to be transported to the Lady Luck Casino on the east side of the river. This shuttle service ran during the early morning and late afternoon to allow commuters to get to their jobs on the other side of the river. The bridge reopened on August 4, about two weeks earlier than initially predicted.

The photo above is a view of the south face of the structure as seen from the Mississippi side of the crossing on the east side of the Mississippi River. The far shore is Arkansas. The photo above is a view from the south side of the highway looking to the east from the Arkansas side of the river.

The photo above is a view looking east down the south face of the Helena Bridge. The photo below is the south face of the bridge as seen from the Mississippi side of the river crossing.

These two photos are views of the Helena Bridge from the traffic deck while crossing the bridge eastbound heading into Mississippi. The photo above is climbing the approach span towards the main truss structure. The photo below is traveling through the massive truss.