Discover the Longest Bridge in Arkansas – A 1.6-Mile Beast

Key Points:

• Morrison Bluff Bridge is the longest bridge in Arkansas, measuring 1.6 miles in total length.
• It is also called the Ada Mills Bridge, and it spans the Arkansas River near Morrison Bluff and Clarksville.
• The bridge facilitates vehicle transportation over the Arkansas River.

Arkansas has a variety of lakes and rivers within its borders. Sometimes, it’s easier to go over these bodies of water than around them. As a result, many long bridges are found along the Arkansas River and the Mississippi River, two lengthy, wide rivers that flow through the state. Learn about the longest bridge in Arkansas, find out where it’s located, and see what body of water it crosses.

To be clear, this article is only examining the longest bridge that is entirely contained within the state of Arkansas. Other longer bridges exist in the state, but they split their distance between Arkansas and other states, so they’re not covered here.

What is the Longest Bridge in Arkansas?

The longest bridge in Arkansas is the Morrison Bluff Bridge, a structure that measures 1.6 miles, about 8,448 feet, in total length. The bridge also goes by the name of the Ada Mills Bridge. The bridge carries vehicles over the Arkansas River near Morrison Bluff and Clarksville by way of Arkansas Highway 109.

The Morrison Bluff Bridge crosses the Arkansas River, a river that runs 1,469 miles throughout Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The mouth of the Arkansas River is the Mississippi River. The confluence of these two rivers is located south of Rosedale, Mississippi on the border between the two states.

While the bridge is not among the largest bridges in the United States, it’s still respectable at 1.6 miles long. However, not all of the bridge’s length is directly over the Arkansas River because the river is simply not that wide.

Where Is the Morrison Bluff Bridge Located on a Map?

The Morrison Bluff Bridge crosses the Arkansas River in the northwestern part of the state. The bridge is easily found on a map by following Arkansas Highway 109 north from Midway toward the town of Morrison Bluff.

The bridge crosses the Arkansas River and continues north to where it reaches U.S. Highway 64. This is a popular highway used to reach Clarksville, a city to the northeast of the bridge. The University of the Ozarks is located just outside of downtown Clarksville.

The History of the Longest Bridge in Arkansas

The Morrison Bluff Bridge has an interesting past rooted in the town for which it is named. The area near the town on the Arkansas River was once very prone to flooding, impacting the feasibility of creating a bridge in the area. Still, people needed to cross the water near Morrison Bluff to cut down on travel times. Following the construction of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), the area became stable enough.

As a result, the Morrison Bluff Bridge was constructed to reduce amount of time needed to navigate the river. This structure was completed in 1980. Before then, people would often need to drive miles to the east or west to cross the river in Ozark or Dardanelle.   

The Morrison Bluff Bridge is a girder bridge meaning it uses support beams to support the bridge deck. The structure measures 1.6 miles long and 30 feet across. The bridge has one lane going north and one lane going south along with a shoulder on both sides.

What Animals Live Near the Morrison Bluff Bridge?

The Morrison Bluff Bridge takes people through Logan and Johnson Counties in Arkansas. A variety of animals live on the land near the bridge as well as in the body of water it crosses.

Some of the animals that a person may find around the bridge include:

• Ducks
• Geese
• Opossum
• Eastern gray squirrel
• American Dipper birds
• Skunks
• Mayflies

Many types of animals live around the area where the river runs. Also, there are many fish that live in the Arkansas River, including:

• Blue catfish
• Channel Catfish
• Largemouth Bass
• Spotted Sunfish
• Black crappie

These are just a few of the fish that people can pull from the Arkansas River. The river and its associated lakes offer anglers some amazing opportunities to catch fish. Of course, many other animals and fish live in this area.  

What Other Long Bridges Are Found in the State?

Some controversy exists over naming the longest bridge in Arkansas. After all, two longer bridges are found in the state. The only thing is that these bridges are not entirely contained within Arkansas. Since we are exploring the longest bridge in the state and not the largest one that is partially in the state, Morrison Bluff gets the nod.

However, the other bridges are worth mentioning too. The first bridge is the Hernando de Soto Bridge, a structure that carries Interstate 40 over the Mississippi River from Arkansas to Tennessee. This bridge measures 1.78 miles or 9,432 feet long. That’s slightly longer than the total length of the Morrison Bluff Bridge. Less than half the total length of the bridge is located in Arkansas, though.

Meanwhile, the Greenville Bridge runs from Shives, Arkansas to Refuge, Mississippi. This is the fourth-longest cable-stayed bridge in the United States, and it runs for 2.56 miles or 13,560 feet. Again, a fair amount of the bridge’s length runs outside of Arkansas, so it’s not right to call it the longest in the state. However, this bridge is the longest that starts its run in the state.

Arkansas Has a Lengthy Bridge for Bikes and People

Arkansas also has a very long bicycle and pedestrian bridge in the state. This structure is called the Big Dam Bridge, a cheeky reference to it being constructed over the Murray Lock and Dam. The bridge runs for a total length of 4,226 feet. To the south of the bridge is Murray Park in Little Rock, and the northern part is located in Cook’s Landing in North Little Rock.

The longest bridge in Arkansas is called the Morrison Bluff Bridge. Its placement on this list may be controversial due to other longer bridges starting in the state and leaving its borders. Still, this particular bridge has cut down on the travel time in the region, allowing people to cut across the Arkansas River without having to travel far to the west or east.