The construction of a bridge across
the Mississippi River is a grand spectacle, the kind of
event that may come to a city or region only once in a
lifetime. The people of Greenville, Mississippi, and Lake
Village, Arkansas, celebrated such an event on September
17, 1940, when more than 5000 people gathered to dedicate
the new US 82 Benjamin G. Humphreys bridge, one of the
longest spans anywhere on the river when it was finished.
In 2006, such a celebration occured again when the
newest US 82 bridge was completed, and the dream of a bridge
for Greenville came true for the second time in a century.
Read about both Greenville Bridges, viewed through
history:
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The
1940 Bridge was a distinctive structure of its
own time. Read about the first US 82 bridge and
view the technical specifications. |
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The
New Bridge will be the longest cable-stayed
span on the Mississippi River when completed, but
the distinctions won’t stop there. |
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The
Quest for a Bridge: Read about the efforts that
brought the first bridge to Greenville during the
years of the Great Depression, and view historic
bridge photos. |
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Benjamin
G. Humphreys, for whom the 1940 bridge was named,
brought the term “flood control” to the American
lexicon and brought relief from flooding to the
Mississippi Delta. Who was he? |
Research Sources:
The Delta Democrat Times, Greenville, Mississippi
R. Daryl Lewis, Leland, Mississippi
HNTB Photo Archives, Kansas City, Missouri
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