Memphis-Arkansas Bridge’s political history goes back to Boss Crump
As it was preparing to open in the spring of 1949, an appointed commission met and decided the structure, now commonly known as the Interstate 55 bridge, should be named in honor of former Memphis Mayor and political boss E.H. Crump. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
In town for an appearance Tuesday, Oct. 22, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee touted state funding approved for helping speed construction of the new “America’s River Crossing” bridge in Downtown Memphis.
And U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., dutifully added that the project’s federal funding came from the “Bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act.”
Republicans hold a supermajority in the Tennessee Legislature. The Biden administration’s federal act received no Republican votes in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
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