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Photograph of Memphis & Arkansas Bridge
Photograph by Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com), CC BY 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Memphis and Arkansas Bridge

Built in 1949. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

From the record

“The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, also known as the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge or inaccurately as the Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying Interstate 55 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. Memphians refer to this bridge as the "Old Bridge" to distinguish it from the "New Bridge", or Hernando de Soto Bridge, upstream.”

Wikipedia article Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 17 National Register listings published here for Crittenden County · listed in 2001 · category: Structure · built in 1949.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • Address. US 55, West Memphis, 72301
  • When was it listed? February 2001
  • Category. structure
  • Also known as. Historic Bridges of Arkansas MPS
  • Township. Mississippi township
  • When was it built? 1949
  • National Register reference number. 01000139 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Memphis and Arkansas Bridge: 4 past producers, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Memphis PitClayPast Producer
64 PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bragg PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bryant PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sylvia G. DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Crittenden County

Storms near this property

58 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Memphis, the town this property stands in, in 58 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 23 hail, 19 thunderstorm wind, 11 flash flood, 3 flood. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
November 1994Tornado (F1)West Memphis2 hurt, $5,000,000An F1 tornado touched down in the city of West Memphis. The tornado remained on the ground for 5 miles before lifting. The tornado damaged 27 homes and 9 apartment buildings containing 66 units. Two people residing in the apartment complex received minor injuries. Forty-three businesses were damaged, 17 of these were declared uninhabitable. Large utility poles were snapped and numerous power lines were knocked down. Several cars were also damaged.
May 2010Flash FloodWest Memphis$7,500,000Heavy rain, up to 10 inches, fell across the West Memphis and Marion area. Numerous streets and roads were flooded. At least 101 homes sustained at least minor damage from the flooding.
June 2013LightningWest Memphis$150,000A lightning strike caused a fire at an apartment complex on West Harrison Street in West Memphis. The fire caused extensive damage.
April 2008Flash FloodWest Memphis$25,000Heavy rain produced flash flooding in West Memphis at the intersection of Barton Street and 7th Street. A total of five cars were stalled in the flooded intersection as a result.
April 2006HailWest Memphis$17,000no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$15,000A fireworks stand was destroyed.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$10,000Some trees and power lines were blown down.
January 1996Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$10,000no account filed
April 2025Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000A gas station awning collapsed.
January 2023Flash FloodWest Memphis$5,000Numerous units were flooded at an apartment complex near South Avalon Steet and River Road.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000Several power lines were knocked down.
December 2002Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000Some power lines were blown down.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000Some trees were blown down.
February 2001Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000Some power lines were knocked down.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000Several trees were knocked down.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000Several trees and power lines were knocked down.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000A 50-year-old pecan tree, along with several other large trees were blown down. A few roofs were damaged as well. A mobile home was blown over onto a nearby highway. Some power lines were blown down as well.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$5,000no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$2,000A few trees were knocked down.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$2,000Numerous tree limbs were knocked down.
February 2023HailWest Memphis$1,000A broken windshield was reported in West Memphis due to large hail.
November 2005Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$1,000Some large tree limbs were knocked down.
March 2004Flash FloodWest Memphis$1,000Many streets were flooded.
June 2004Flash FloodWest Memphis$1,000A few roads were flooded.
March 2002Flash FloodWest Memphis$1,000Several roads were under water.
December 2001FloodWest Memphis$1,000Some roads had water over them.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$1,000Several large tree limbs were knocked down.
April 1999FloodWest Memphis$1,000Several streets were flooded in West Memphis.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$1,000A few trees were blown down.
January 2008HailWest Memphis$1,000no account filed
April 2007HailWest Memphis$1,000no account filed
July 1995HailWest Memphis$1,000no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$500A few trees were blown down.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWest Memphis$500Some power lines were blown down.
June 2004HailWest Memphis$100no account filed
October 2004HailWest Memphis$100no account filed
June 1995HailWest Memphis$100no account filed
June 2004HailWest Memphis$50no account filed
April 1998HailWest Memphis$50no account filed
February 2005HailWest Memphis$10no account filed
November 2005HailWest Memphis$10no account filed
March 2004HailWest Memphis$10no account filed
May 2002HailWest Memphis$10no account filed
April 1998HailWest Memphis$10no account filed
April 2026Flash FloodWest Memphis-Several roads in West Memphis were closed due to flash flooding.
April 2025Flash FloodWest Memphis-The intersection of N. 7th St and E Barton Ave was flooded.
April 2025Flash FloodWest Memphis-Water rescues occurred in West Memphis.
April 2025FloodWest Memphis-Water rescues occurred due to flooding in West Memphis.
December 2013Flash FloodWest Memphis-Heavy rain produced flash flooding in West Memphis. Gibson and Barton Avenues were covered by a foot of water.
May 2011Flash FloodWest Memphis-Heavy rain caused water in storm drains to back up flooding Belvedere Street in West Memphis.
January 2010HailWest Memphis-Pea to penny size hail fell in West Memphis.
February 2023HailWest Memphis-no account filed
November 2012HailWest Memphis-no account filed
May 2012HailWest Memphis-no account filed
June 2011HailWest Memphis-no account filed
January 1993HailWest Memphis-no account filed
April 1993HailWest Memphis-no account filed
May 1993HailWest Memphis-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Crittenden County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Riverside Speedway3.3 miles2010
West Memphis Commercial Historic District5.5 miles2008
Lawrie House5.7 miles1996
Wilson Power and Light Company Ice Plant6.0 miles2010
Hamilton Apartments6.1 miles1998
West Memphis City Hall6.1 miles2010

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 01000139 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Crittenden CountyAll 17 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.