New Marion County bridge over Tennessee River opens

photo The old bridge and new U.S. Highway 41 bridge stand side-by-side in Marion County, Tenn.

For Madge Boggild the opening of the new $21.5 million bridge over the Tennessee River at Haletown, Tenn., brought her relationship with the crossing on U.S. Highway 41 full circle.

Boggild was a grade-schooler when she rode over the Tennessee River in the bed of a Ford Model T truck when the first bridge over the river at Haletown was opened in 1929.

In 2012, she rode across it again in the last vehicle to cross with its closure.

On Friday, she drove the first vehicle to cross the 1929-era span's 21st Century replacement as part of its official opening. That opening came more than a year after the project's original completion date of August 2013.

The bridge project started in March 2011, but problems with rock beneath the river near the new bridge piers added more than a year of additional work to the project. That problem also forced the closure of the existing bridge, which planners originally wanted to keep open until the new bridge was complete, according to Tennessee Department of Transportation officials. The old 1929 truss bridge was permanently closed to traffic on Jan. 9, 2012. The two spans are just 30 feet apart.

In 2013, the steel plan for the new bridge didn't gain TDOT's approval and contractor Britton Bridge reformulated plans so the fabricator of the massive steel girders could tweak its part of the project.

photo Madge Elizabeth Boggild smiles as she gets in her car to be the first person to drive across the bridge Friday after the TDOT officially opened the U.S. Highway 41 bridge in Marion County, Tenn.

Negotiations between the state and Britton Bridge took about six months, and work resumed about a year ago with cranes installing monstrous beams that weigh as much as 90 tons each, according to Britton Bridge officials.

Over the past year the new bridge took shape, reaching out from each side of the river until the spans met in the middle and the approaches on either end shifted from the old route to the new. The last work to be done included moving utility lines, installing guardrails and painting the lane stripes.

Linda Castle owns the Anchor Inn Bait & Tackle store at the Haletown end of the bridge, and for the first time in almost four years she can look on the new bridge with a smile.

"I am absolutely excited," Castle said Friday. When the old bridge closed, it cut off her store from the Marion County Park campground on the other side of the river, a traditional source of customers.

"I hope they remember us and come back," she said. Castle plans to advertise the renewed link across the river and her new lunch counter so campers and anglers have a place near the water to eat and get their gear.

"I'm still here, people, I'm still here. I survived the storm," Castle said.

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer was on hand Friday for opening ceremonies.

"We are pleased to be here today to celebrate the opening of this important structure with our local partners and the citizens of Marion County," he said. "This bridge will not only serve the citizens of Marion County, it will be an asset to the entire region, as U.S. Highway 41 is an important route that is often used as an alternate for I-24."

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.

News report from the opening:

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