Charles W. Dean Bridge
The Charles W. Dean Bridge, known before 1999 as the Great River Bridge, is a planned cable-stayed bridge to carry Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 278 across the Mississippi River between Arkansas City, Arkansas and Benoit, Mississippi. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department began land acquisition for the project in October 2006, but no funding has been provided for construction.
Charles W. Dean Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°37′12″N 91°08′10″W |
| Carries | 4 lanes of I-69 / US 278 |
| Crosses | Mississippi River |
| Locale | Arkansas City, Arkansas and Benoit, Mississippi |
| Other name(s) | Great River Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Longest span | 1,500 feet (457 m) |
| Clearance below | 85 feet (26 m) |
| Location | |
Preliminary studies indicate the bridge, which is part of I-69 SIU 12, would be 4.25 miles (6.84 km) long, with one 1,500-foot (460 m) cable-stayed span over the main channel of the river supported by two 450-foot (140 m) towers. A cost of $565 million has been estimated.
The structure's name commemorates Charles W. Dean (1927–1998), an engineer from Cleveland, Mississippi who proposed the bridge in 1984. A Mississippi legislative act named the proposed bridge after Dean in 1999.