The MacArthur Bridge spans the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan. The bridge, which features nineteen total arches across 2,193 feet (668 m), provides main access between the city's mainland and Belle Isle. Completed in 1923 for $2.635 million, it replaced an iron bridge with wooden decking that accidentally caught fire and was destroyed in 1915. The bridge, popularly known as the Belle Isle Bridge, was originally named the George Washington Bridge and renamed the Douglas MacArthur Bridge after General Douglas MacArthur in 1942.[1][2] It was restored in 1986 at a cost of $11.5 million.[3]
MacArthur Bridge | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 42°20′33″N 82°59′55″W / 42.3425°N 82.9985°W |
| Carries | 5 lanes of East Grand Boulevard |
| Crosses | Detroit River |
| Locale | Detroit, Michigan |
| Official name | Douglas MacArthur Bridge |
| Other name(s) | Belle Isle Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Total length | 2,193 feet (668 m) |
| Width | 85 feet (26 m) |
| Clearance below | 30 feet (9 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | November 1, 1923 |
| Location | |
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In 1913, William Edmund Scripps (of the Scripps publishing family), flew a Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company flying boat underneath the original Belle Isle Bridge.[4]
Two sets of streetcar tracks were built into the east side of the bridge but a streetcar route was never implemented.[5] The tracks were eventually paved over in the 1950s.
Photo gallery edit
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Entering Belle Isle from MacArthur Bridge -
View of bridge from Belle Isle
References edit
- ^ Austin, Dan (February 18, 2015). "The day it stopped being the Belle Isle Bridge". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ "Douglas MacArthur Bridge — Historic Detroit". www.historicdetroit.org. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ "Douglas MacArthur Bridge". HistoricDetroit.org. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ^ http://info.detnews.com/redesign/history/story/historytemplate.cfm?id=77&CFID=11849544&CFTOKEN=67648774[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Belle Isle". www.detroittransithistory.info. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
External links edit
Media related to MacArthur Bridge (Detroit River) at Wikimedia Commons