The Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge has stood as both an icon and a key access point in Nashville for more than 20 years.
The bridge sits nearly 200 feet above the Cumberland River just south of the Lower Broadway district. It is 1,660 feet long, features a 544 foot arch and runs from Shelby Avenue in East Nashville before connecting with First Avenue South in downtown Nashville. Over the span of 22 years, the bridge has become a familiar backdrop for some of the city's most memorable moments, including its annual Fourth of July fireworks, Tennessee Titans football games and the city's thriving downtown tourism district. It was even featured on a recent episode of ABC drama "9-1-1: Nashville."
Originally named The Gateway Bridge, it opened
to traffic on May 19, 2004. Then-Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell hailed it as the city's "new front door" during the opening ceremony, according to an article from The Tennessean, and led a caravan of cars in the first official crossing. Andy Gerome, who lived in Nashville's Edgehill neighborhood at the time, was also on hand for the ceremony with his wife. He told The Tennessean they were excited to see the bridge increase access to and from East Nashville and wanted to be there to see it open.
"It's a part of history," Germone said in a story that ran in the May 20, 2004 edition of The Tennessean. "It's once in a lifetime."
The Gateway Bridge was built as a replacement to the Shelby Avenue Bridge, which closed to car traffic in 1998 and was later opened only to foot traffic. Now known as the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, it was renamed in 2014 for The Tennessean's longtime editor, who kept a man from jumping from it in 1954.
Nashville's Metro Council renamed the bridge as the Korean War Veterans Bridge in 2006 to honor thousands of Tennesseans who served in the Korean War from 1950-1953.
Want to see the evolution of the bridge over the years? Take a look through our gallery below.
Reach reporter Rachel Wegner via email at RAwegner@tennessean.com. You can also find her on X or Bluesky under the handle RachelAnnWegner.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Korean War Veterans bridge became Nashville's 'new front door' in 2004
