The Tallahatchie River bridge, located on Highway 32 between Charleston and Webb, is on the market — free to anyone who can move it and properly care for the historic structure.
Lightweights need not apply.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) is offering the steel through-truss structure with concrete deck, built in 1949, to the public “for relocation, preservation, and maintenance,” according to a public notice advertisement ordered for publication in the Sept. 4 and Sept. 11 editions of The Sun-Sentinel.
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MDOT said the 76-year-old two-lane bridge, which carries an average of 880 vehicles daily and is listed in an overall “fair” condition, according to a summary report from the National Bridge Inventory database (NBI), is scheduled for replacement in 2026.
The structure has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and “must be removed in compliance with federal regulations,” the MDOT notice states, despite the NBI database saying it is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
“Individuals or organizations may submit relocation and preservation proposals which will be reviewed by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Federal Highway Administration and MDOT.”
If a relocation plan is approved, MDOT will reimburse the successful proposer the relocation cost if it does not exceed MDOT’s estimated cost of demolition.
The transfer deed will include preservation agreements that will require the new owner “to preserve and maintain the structure and its architectural elements in accordance with standards established by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.”
Formal proposals must be submitted by Oct. 1, 2025, to Brian Childs, MDOT Interim District Engineer, P.O. Box 660, Batesville, MS 38606. For more information, contact Childs at 662-563-4541.
