Talmadge Memorial Bridge
bridge in the United States spanning the Savannah River between downtown Savannah, Georgia, and Hutchinson Island
The Talmadge Memorial Bridge is a bridge in the United States spanning the Savannah River between downtown Savannah, Georgia, and Hutchinson Island. It carries US 17/SR 404 Spur. The original cantilever bridge was built in 1953; a replacement bridge was completed in 1991, and named the Talmadge Memorial Bridge.
History
The original Talmadge bridge was a cantilever truss bridge built in 1953. By the 1980s, it had become functionally obsolete with only two lanes and no median and also became a danger for large ships entering the Port of Savannah, home to the largest single-ocean-container terminal on the U.S. eastern seaboard, and the nation's fourth-busiest seaport. Because of this, plans to replace the bridge began in the early 1980s. Construction on a four-lane-wide cable-stayed span began in 1987, and was completed in March 1991.
Name
The structure is dedicated to Eugene Talmadge, who served as the Democratic governor of Georgia in 1933-37 and 1941–43.
The replacement bridge was originally suggested to be named for the Native American Creek leader Tomochichi, an important figure in Savannah's founding in 1733. After public forums on the issue, the original name was restored for the new structure.
“Talmadge Memorial Bridge” enters the record as bridge in the United States spanning the Savannah River between downtown Savannah, Georgia, and Hutchinson Island. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Talmadge, Memorial and Bridge can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Talmadge Memorial Bridge” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Talmadge, Memorial and Bridge provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3514553. Authority coordinates are 32.089, -81.099. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1953, 1991, 1987 and 1933.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Talmadge Memorial Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Talmadge Memorial Bridge primary sources, Talmadge Memorial Bridge archive and Talmadge research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Talmadge Memorial Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.