CLINTON, Tenn. — The iconic 'Green Bridge' in Clinton is nearly gone now that demolition crews are taking it apart.
Crews began demolition shortly after the new Clinch River Bridge opened to traffic a few months ago.
The new bridge replaced the historic steel truss bridge commonly referred to as the "Green Bridge." It's official name, the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Bridge, has been an iconic structure in the community since its construction in the 1940s.
TDOT said the new $27.6 million bridge is a webbed steel girder bridge utilizing drilled shaft foundations.
The city had looked at ways to keep the old bridge standing. One idea was to transform it into a pedestrian bridge, but that idea was scrapped due to it costing roughly $2 million to renovate the structure along with an estimated $100,000 per year in upkeep.
The new bridge had been under construction since 2018 before opening to traffic in mid-October.
TDOT said an average of nearly 22,000 vehicles per day drove over the Green Bridge.