Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge in Nashville

Natchez Trace Parkway Arches

When we moved to Nashville from Chicago with a teaching job in a local Medical College in the Fall of 1990, I was deeply touched by the natural beauty of this place. One afternoon in 1992 while wandering with a discovery mode with my family (wife, one daughter and one son) through the TN State highway 96, we accidentally discovered a very scenic Parkway called the Natchez Trace Parkway.  At that time there was an awesome enormous concrete bridge under construction over HWY 96. We kept on coming to the site, whenever we had a chance, to see the progress of this unique structure. The bridge was designed by Florida-based Figg Engineering Group and built for a $11.3 million by the PCL Civil Constructors Inc., a subsidiary of the PCL Constructors Inc. The bridge was completed in October 1993 and was officially opened by then vice President Mr. Albert Gore on March 22, 1994 with lots of fireworks.  

Mr. Luverne Bultje and Mrs. Sharon Bultje of South Dakota came to visit us in June, 2012. They posed at the entrance of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge, also known as the Natchez Trace Parkway Arches, is a concrete double arch bridge. It is located in Williamson County, TN, about 9 miles from the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The bridge is very big indeed. It is over 1500 ft long and carries the ~150 ft wide two-lane Natchez Trace Parkway over the State Route 96. An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. This bridge was made from a series of two arches. The bridge is unique in that it does not use spandrel columns to support the deck from the arch. Rather than being evenly distributed along the arch's length, the weight of the bridge is concentrated at the crown of the arch. The lack of spandrel columns results in a clean, unencumbered appearance.

The Natchez Trace Arches Bridge

The facts about the bridge (obtained from the web search) are really fascinating. The bridge is the first segmentally constructed concrete arch bridge in the United States. The arches comprise 122 hollow box segments precast in nearby Franklin, each of which was about 10 ft long and weighed between 25 and 45 metric tons. The deck consists of 196 precast post-tensioned trapezoidal box girder segments, each typically 8.5 ft long. The sections atop the crown of the arch are 13 ft) deep. The foundations and piers of the bridge were cast in place.

The map of the Nashville segment of the Natchez Trace Parkway

The bridge has won many awards for its design, including a Presidential Award for Design Excellence in 1995, and an Award of Merit from the Federal Highway Administration in 1996. The Eleventh International Bridge Conference named it the single most outstanding achievement in the bridge industry for 1994.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile drive through exceptional scenery and 10,000 years of North American history. Used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," settlers, and future presidents, the Old Trace played an important role in American history. Today, visitors can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping. The Parkway is spanning three states: Mississippi (309 miles), Alabama (33 miles) and Tennessee (102 miles). The parkway is maintained by National Park Services (140 permanent and 30 seasonal employees are engaged for this job). This parkway is the seventh most visited unit in the National Park System (15.3 million visitors in 2009).

Since I came to know this marvelous natural beauty so close to where we live, this place became a must first thing to see in Nashville for my newcomer friends and family members. Now the Parkway is accessible from TN highway 100 which is the northern most end of the Parkway. You have to drive 9-10 miles from Hwy 100 to go to the Arches bridge. Recently we moved to a place very close to this entrance of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Within 5 minutes of drive, we can reach the parkway.

In the summer of 2012 we took two family visitors to show the bridge and the parkway; once in June and the other in July. We live in Avondale Park by the side of the McCrory Lane. Coming out of the Avondale Park subdivision, we take left turn at McCrory Lane and go towards Hwy 100 where there is a signal light. We turn right at Hwy 100 and very soon we see the entrance to the Parkway on our right. The entrance ramp goes over a concrete bridge atop of the Hwy 100. There is an inscription on the over bridge noting the Natchez Trace Parkway.

After a few minutes’ drive through the astonishingly awesome winding road through dense woods, we reach a small parking area romantically named Birdsong Hollow. This place is the northern end of the Arches bridge. The bridge can be viewed from two locations. A few step of walk through a nice concrete walkway from the Birdsong Hollow parking area there is outstanding view of the bridge and the valley below.

The Birdsong Hollow parking lot. This is the northern end of the Arches Bridge.

Luverne is looking at the concrete walkway towards the Bridge viewing area at the Birdsong Hollow parking area.

My niece Satabdi came from New York to visit us in July, 2012. She is standing on the concrete walkway at the Birdsong Hollow spot.

My friend Manish and his two daughters: Aditi (left) and Aarya (right) are standing on the rocky railing of the Birdsong Hollow walkway. Manish and his family also lives in Avondale Park in Nashville.

My son Evan, Satabdi and Minu (my wife) are standing on the Birdsong Hollow walkway.

At the end of the concrete walkway at Birdsong Hollow there is a spot in a shady groove from where you can view the Arches Bridge.

Sharon and Luverne are enjoying the view of the Arches Bridge from the Birdsong Hollow viewing spot.

Evan and Satabdi posed for a photo at the Birdsong Hollow viewing spot.

Another view of the Arches Bridge from the Birdsong Hollow viewing area.

The view of the Arches Bridge from underneath. You can go to the under of the bridge from the view point at  Birdsong Hollow through a short trail. Be careful!

The second viewing site is just south of the bridge; there is an exit ramp that takes you down to Tennessee Highway 96. At the bottom of the hill there is a parking area with a view looking up at the entire length of the bridge.

The Hwy 96 entrance of Natchez Trace Parkway. There is a tiny parking lot at this entrance. You can have a large view of the bridge from this point. The entrance ramp takes you to the south entrance of the bridge.

Close up view of the bridge from the Hwy 96 entrance point.

Another view of the bridge from the Hwy 96 entrance point.

Another view of the bridge from the Hwy 96 entrance point.

Panoramic views of the bridge from the Hwy 96 entrance point.

Another view of the bridge from the Hwy 96 entrance point.

Another view of the bridge from the Hwy 96 entrance point. 

Coming out of the Birdsong Hollow parking area to the Natchez Trace Parkway will immediately lead you to the Arches Bridge. Both sides of the road on the bridge have walkways. But be careful because some interesting senseless drivers often drive carelessly on the bridge.  You need to be particularly careful if you have absent minded photographers or little toddlers with you. Accidents may happen!

The north entrance of the bridge.

Satabdi is sitting on the stone wall at the north entrance of the bridge. 

Satabdi is sitting on the stone wall at the north entrance of the bridge.

Evan, Minu and Manish are walking on the stone wall at the north entrance of the bridge. It is lots of fun.

We were standing on the bridge enjoying the eagle's eye view of the valley underneath.

Satabdi and Aarya are standing on the bridge. 

Manish and Rati are standing on the bridge.

Panoramic views on the bridge.

Another view on the bridge. Minu and Rati (Manish's wife) with Aditi standing on the bridge.

Another view on the bridge.

The beauty of the eagle's eye view of the Hwy 96 and the valley under the Arches bridge  from the top of the bridge is breathtaking. You cannot help but start enjoying the view forgetting everything around you.

A view of the valley from the bridge.

Another view of the valley from the bridge.

Another view of the valley from the bridge.

Panoramic views of the valley from the bridge.

Another view of the valley from the bridge. 

I keep on coming to this bridge time and time again. Different times of the day, different days and different seasons the neighborhood of this engineering marvel poses to offer new beauty. I am sure if you come once and spend an hour on and around this bridge, you will fall in love with this bridge and will feel addicted to come here again. In the Fall, the view of the valley from the bridge is additionally spectacular. Stay tuned. I'll upload additional posts on this topic with more photos.

AUTHOR: GAUTAM CHAUDHURI, PHD, NASHVILLE, TN, USA

EMAIL: GCHAUDHURI99@GMAIL.COM

 

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