A new design for the I-55 replacement bridge would take slightly less of E.H. Crump Park than originally expected.
The new $954.4 million bridge, called Kings’ Crossing, would completely replace the 75-year-old Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, also known as the I-55 or “old” bridge, which would be demolished.
Transportation officials say the existing bridge needs replacing because it does not meet current seismic standards and was not designed to handle current and projected traffic and truck volumes. The new bridge would be built to modern seismic standards and is expected to begin construction in 2026.
A public notice from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) says the new design eliminated auxiliary lanes — often on and off ramps — from the project, shrinking the bridge width by a little more than 29 feet. TDOT also decided to build a full-height retaining wall along the bridge, instead of a partial-height wall. The changes were made to “to improve cost efficiency and constructability.”
Together, these changes would take up about 1.26 acres of the park, about 30 percent of its 4.3-acre total. The original plan from last year would have taken slightly more than 2 acres of the park, about half.
The existing parking lot and the portion of the park south of the proposed right of way will remain open throughout construction, the agencies said.
The changes would impact a Commission Against Senseless Killings, Inc. (CASK) monument and its two trees. The monument was placed in remembrance of those impacted by violent crime. It would be removed at the start of construction, safely stored, and relocated approximately 100 feet south of its current location when construction is complete, TDOT and ARDOT said. The trees would be re-planted near the monument.
The plan would also remove and relocated the “Memphis & Arkansas Poem Marker” from the existing bridge. It would also install a new naming monument for the the new bridge.
Some improvements promised under the earlier plan have been scaled back. A proposed 10-foot-wide path would now loop through Crump Park rather than directly connect the park to Martyrs Park and the Big River Crossing trailhead. TDOT and ARDOT said existing sidewalks and paths are now adequate for those connections but could be supplemented by signs or pavement markings.
The new bridge would stretch about 1.6 miles between Memphis and Arkansas, with a broad, straight deck suspended from towers by cables. Its main span would stretch more than a quarter-mile across the Mississippi River.
The new bridge would carry two 12-foot travel lanes in each direction, four lanes total each direction. They would have 10-foot shoulders on both the inside and outside of the lanes.
The project is backed by a $393.75 million federal grant from the Bridge Investment Program created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Tennessee and Arkansas have each committed up to $200 million toward the replacement.
