This bridge near Vicksburg, Mississippi, was built as part of the Interstate I-20 highway project. Due to the configuration of the river and the existing US-80 bridge, safe river navigation demanded that the I-20 bridge had to be built either right next to the existing US-80 bridge, or it would need to be at least a mile and a half downstream. The decision was made to build the new bridge next to the old bridge. This decision forced a key design element in that the piers of the new bridge had to match the spacing of the piers on the old bridge. This was to allow barge tows to sail straight through both structures without having to zig-zag. While the two bridges look similar, the new bridge has a simpler design based on fewer but heavier structural members.

It was noted that the Old Vicksburg Bridge suffered an event where the ground under two piers moved shortly after that bridge was completed. The old bridge was able to survive that incident, but the structure was left with a slight lean. As a result, engineers were watching the new bridge for signs of similar movement. In a two year period from March 2000 to March 2002, the eastern two piers of the I-20 bridge moved 4 inches laterally. A consulting engineering firm was brought in to look at the situation. They discovered an active fault line running along the riverbed near the east bank of the Mississippi. It will be interesting to see how this turns out in the future.

The photo above is the downstream face of the Vicksburg Bridge. The vantage point is a hotel situated two blocks south of Interstate I-20 on the east side of the great river.

These two photos are views of the upstream face of the Vicksburg Bridge as seen from the visitor center near the northeast corner of the structure. The photo above is a view looking southwest towards the bridge truss spans. The photo below is a slightly closer view that is looking more towards the west across the Mississippi River.