Big Black River Railroad Bridge

United States historic place


Big Black River Railroad Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Downstream side of the bridge
32°20′49″N 90°42′17″W / 32.34694°N 90.70472°W / 32.34694; -90.70472
Built	1917
Architectural style	Open-spandrel arch
MPS	Historic Bridges of Mississippi TR
NRHP reference No.	88002418^[1]
Added to NRHP	November 16, 1988

Big Black River Railroad Bridge is a 465-foot-long (142 m) concrete open-spandrel arch bridge over the Big Black River built in 1917 near Bovina, Mississippi. It spans the river between Warren County and Hinds County; the nearest settlements are Bovina (in Warren) and Edwards, Mississippi (in Hinds).

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.^[1] According to its listing in the Mississippi Historic Bridge Survey in 1988, it is significant as the largest and "most impressive" concrete open-spandrel bridge in Mississippi (out of just two in the state).^[2]

Open-spandrel concrete arch bridges were built in the early 1900s in areas where concrete was not too expensive relative to alternatives and where the span would be sufficiently high so that the arch could span the requisite distance. (Truss bridges can be built lower.)

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ Jack D. Elliott, Jr. (October 3, 1988). "Mississippi Historic Bridge Survey: Railroad Bridge over Big Black River". National Park Service. Retrieved May 26, 2016. with photo