Million Dollar Bridge

Two crews worked tirelessly on either side of the river mixing concrete and delivering 20-gallon buckets of concrete via cable lines that were supported by two, 200-foot steel towers on the north and south bank of the river. The mechanism, designed by Ernest Holmes and Barney Strickland of Holmes and Strickland Pattern Work Company, significantly reduced labor time. In addition, the concrete mixing machines on both sides of the river were created especially for the Market Street Bridge project to produce high quality concrete work in an efficient manner, which was something unheard of at its time.

After repeated inspections, the bridge was officially dedicated and opened to the public on November 17, 1917. Three years after the start of construction, the Market Street Bridge was completed at a cost of $1.1 million. Officials celebrated the opening of the bridge with a parade and allowed the crowd to cross the bridge by vehicle and foot.

The first automobile to officially cross the Market Street Bridge was a Hudson Supersix.

Source information: National Register of Historic Places

Paul Archambault Southeast TN Development District