Webster Street bridge slated
for future demolishing
Published Friday, March 21
By Jebb Johnston
Staff Writer
It was once a popular spot for sledding when snow visited the city. Soon, the Webster Street bridge may span only years of memories. A railroad employee, Ricky Chambers, told the Corinth Board of Aldermen on Tuesday that the railroad overpass is likely to be demolished in the near future. The wooden bridge is owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad, not the city.
Chambers approached the board to gauge their response and request ideas for how the approaches to the area should be handled when the bridge is removed.
It was a brief discussion with no board action taken.
Because of its deterioration, the bridge, located near the street's intersection with Shiloh Road, has been closed to traffic since September 2001.
One alderman asked if a new bridge could be built. Chambers said that is unlikely, particularly with two underpasses of the railroad located nearby.
He said removal of the bridge will aid the railroad as they rework the tracks below and will help to keep mud and dirt off the tracks. Once the bridge is removed, aldermen said they would like to see an attractive cul de sac on either side. Chambers said railings will be placed along the area for safety.
The 2001 closing was the second for the bridge. It was first closed in mid-1999 because of the same safety concerns. Officials cited rotten timbers from the ground up, and the ground below could be seen as one walked across it.
The 1999 closing was short-lived. Residents in the bridge area began a petition of protest, arguing that its closing posed a great inconvenience, and the railroad agreed to reopen the bridge with the stipulation that residents crossed it at their own risk. Trucks were barred from crossing the bridge.
Discussions of the bridge often bring up memories.
"I know it was there when I was a kid, because I used to snow sled on it," said Street Commissioner Jim Bynum. "I can remember it as long as I have been here."
He estimated the bridge was built in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

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