Currie Parkway Bridge

The Currie Parkway Bridge, originally called the Upper Bridge, was built in 1908 after the previous wooden bridge was destroyed in a flood. It was succeeded as the main river crossing by the Karl B. Robertson Bridge in 1955 but continued to operate as a secondary crossing.

The original structure was a Pratt through-truss bridge. However, an independent structural arch was added in 1988 to help preserve the bridge. The arch is what is supporting the traffic loads, leaving the trusses as non-structural decorative elements. The bridge was painted its distinct red color in 2014.

In the fall of 2018, the bridge was closed after an overweight vehicle damaged the bridge. The bearings, tie rods, and other steel members needed to be repaired, but the bridge was able to be reopened in June of 2019. However, a temporary traffic order was placed on the newly opened bridge making it one-way. The significantly reduced the traffic volumes on the bridge.

It was again damaged by an overweight vehicle in October of 2021 and was reopened to eastbound traffic on July 28, 2023. During these repairs, a guardrail lane was added at the approach. The system does not narrow the roadway but instead incorporates a slight angle that prevents long commercial vehicles or vehicles pulling trailers from accessing the bridge. In addition, the deck and some of the structural members were replaced, and the bridge railing was replaced.

It was ultimately decided to keep the bridge as one way, and a project was started to update the approach roadways to accommodate this. Construction was sone in the summer of 2025 and included relocating the curb and gutter.