Dauphin Island Bridge

Gordon Persons Bridge

View of the bridge from SR-193.
Coordinates 30°17′32″N 88°07′48″W / 30.2921°N 88.1300°W / 30.2921; -88.1300
Carries 2 lanes of SR 193
Crosses Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Locale Dauphin Island, Alabama
Other name(s) Dauphin Island Bridge
Characteristics
Total length 17,814 feet (5,430 m)[1]
Longest span 400 feet (122 m)[1]
Clearance below 83 feet (25 m)
History
Opened 1982

The Dauphin Island Bridge, formally the Gordon Persons Bridge, carries a 3-mile (4.8 km), two-lane section of Alabama State Route 193 from mainland Mobile County, Alabama across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to Dauphin Island. The natural channel followed by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at this location is Pass Aux Herons. The bridge separates the Mississippi Sound on the west from Mobile Bay on the east. It was named in honor of Seth Gordon Persons, the 46th governor of Alabama.

History

The original bridge opened on July 2, 1955.[2] It was destroyed by Hurricane Frederic in 1979 and was replaced by a fixed precast concrete segmental bridge in 1982. The central main span was the first use of a 400-foot (122 m) span on a precast concrete segmental bridge.[1]

On January 7, 2008, Lam Luong tossed four children, including three of his own, to their deaths off of the bridge. In March 2009, a jury in Mobile County convicted him of capital murder for the act.[3] He was sentenced to death on April 30, 2009.[4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gordon Persons Bridge.
  1. 1 2 3 "Dauphin Island Bridge". "Figg Engineering Group". Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  2. ↑ "Press Register story". "AL.com website". Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  3. ↑ "Jury convicts Alabama dad of throwing 4 kids off bridge — CNN.com". CNN. March 20, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  4. ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30500905/

Coordinates: 30°17′32″N 88°07′48″W / 30.2921°N 88.1300°W / 30.2921; -88.1300

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.