Let's Go Walking Across The MS River

Bras for Breast Cancer

Over The River Run

Twenty years ago my youngest daughter, Suzy and I walked across the MS River and it was an experience we will never forget.  It was quite a long walk over and back but the view was fantastic. I would really love to give it one more try.  

It seems like the old Hwy 80 bridge has recently grown in popularity lately according to The Vicksburg Post and it's about time.  It made be unsafe for modern day vehicles, but it's been a mighty fine setting for bikes and tennis shoes this year.  

Event-goers have either ridden bicycles or walked across the 81-year-old span three times this year, and six more special events are planned before year's end, making for the most foot and bike traffic ever on the 81-year-old span, superintendent Herman Smith said.  

"It never used to be like this," Smith said during a Vicksburg Bridge Commission meeting Wednesday.  "The bridge is getting extremely popular."  

A 5K walk to benefit cystic fibrosis research is set for September 10.  The Bricks and Spokes event October 1, put on by the Vicksburg Main Street, features rides of 10, 30 and 50 miles.  The MS Association for Proving Supports to Employment has plans for a walk on September 17, after postponing it in April when the MS River began is historic spring rise.  

Filling out the rest of the bridge's busy schedule is the Over The River Run Oct 8, the Living Independence for Everyone wheelchair event October 29 and Bras for Breast Cancer on November 3. 

Of course, you do have the Kansas City Southern RR that crosses the bridge all the time.  An audit for 2011 showed 284,094 rail cars crossed the bridge from July 2010 through June 2011, up about 6 percent compared to the previous year.  

In 2005, the county and its five appointed commissioners agreed again to pursue a federal grant to convert the road into a recreational area - - complete with 1,200 linear feet of walking space protected by a 30-foot screen to prevent walkers from flying objects from trains and a two-lane bicycle path on the entire length of the bridge.  

Despite the support from 17 public and private entities the project stalled in 2006.  Kansas City Southern RR claimed a park was too unsafe and violated terms of the company's lease prohibiting creation of a hazardous condition along the rail.