University Avenue Overhead Bridge – University-Oxford MS

Description

T. M. Strider and Company was in charge of construction for the four-lane steel-reinforced concrete bridge replacement for the old two-lane wooden bridge across the Hilgard Cut, connecting the University with Oxford. The original cut was hand dug by enslaved Africans in 1857 in order to enable the Illinois Central Railroad to provide service to Oxford-University, and was the deepest cut in the ICRR system. The rails were laid along the cut, which is now the Gertrude Ford Boulevard. University Avenue was scheduled for closure for six months in order to construct the new bridge with an estimated cost of $55,851. Funding was secured from the United States Bureau of Roads. In 1939, the Bureau of Public Roads was moved under the Federal Works Agency and renamed the Public Roads Administration. The new bridge was completed in summer 1940 and opened to traffic October 19th for the University’s homecoming game. The final total cost, shared by Federal Government and Mississippi Highway Department, was $65,000.