Edmund Pettus Bridge

Edmund Pettus Bridge
The central span of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in April 2010
Coordinates32°24′20″N 87°01′07″W / 32.40556°N 87.01861°W / 32.40556; -87.01861
Edmund Pettus Bridge
LocationSelma, Alabama, U.S.
Built1940
Built byT. A. Loving Company
NRHP reference No.13000281
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 27, 2013[1]
Designated NHLFebruary 27, 2013
Carries
US 80 Bus.
CrossesAlabama River
Characteristics
DesignThrough arch bridge
Total length1,248.1 feet (380.4 m)
Width42.3 feet (12.9 m)
Longest span250 feet (76 m)
No. of spans8
Piers in water4
Clearance above14.8 feet (4.5 m)
History
Construction start1939
Construction end1940
OpenedMay 25, 1940
Statistics
Daily traffic17,720
Location
Map

The Edmund Pettus Bridge carries U.S. Route 80 Business (US 80 Bus.) across the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama. Built in 1940, it is named after Edmund Pettus, a former Confederate brigadier general, U.S. senator, and state-level leader ("Grand Dragon") of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan.[2] The bridge is a steel through arch bridge with a central span of 250 feet (76 m). Nine large concrete arches support the bridge and roadway on the east side.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site of the conflict of Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, when police attacked Civil Rights Movement demonstrators with horses, billy clubs, and tear gas[3] as they were attempting to march to the state capital, Montgomery.[2] The marchers crossed the bridge again on March 21 and walked to the Capitol building.

The bridge was declared a National Historic Landmark on February 27, 2013.[1][4]

  1. ^ a b "Edmund Pettus Bridge". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ^ a b Whack, Errin (March 7, 2015). "Who Was Edmund Pettus?: The march to freedom started on a bridge that honors a man bent on preserving slavery and segregation". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "We Shall Overcome – Selma-to-Montgomery March". National Park Service. April 23, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  4. ^ "America's Great Outdoors: Secretary Salazar, Director Jarvis Designate 13 New National Historic Landmarks" (Press release). US Department of the Interior. March 11, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2020.