Bridging the Mississippi

The first bridge connecting Natchez, Mississippi, and Vidalia, Louisiana, opened to traffic on September 26, 1940, replacing the boat ferry that had carried people, livestock, and goods across the Mississippi River. Works Project Administration workers built the bridge while also relocating the entire town of Vidalia westward away from the river as part of a Corps of Engineers flood-control plan that included large levees, laying out new streets and sidewalks and moving more than 100 homes and commercial buildings. In July 1988, a second bridge opened south of the original bridge.

Natchez, Mississippi · United States