History of the Market Street Bridge, and its 1917 Opening

90 years ago the major mode of transportation in Chattanooga was not the automobile.

People traveled by horse-drawn carriage and trolley cars. But city leaders saw the future of transportation, and knew they needed another way to get across the Tennessee River.

WDEF News 12's Chris Nettleton continues our team coverage with a look at Chattanooga's history during the 1st Grand Opening of the Market Street Bridge.

November 17th, 1917 ... more than 1,000 people gather on the South shore of the Tennessee River to see the Grand Opening of the Chief John Ross, or as we call it, the Market Street Bridge.

Some questioned the need for a 2nd crossing over the river, and called the more than two year. $1,000,000 project a waste of money.

Coming in at more than double its projected budget, you can understand why. But by the mid 1950s, more automobiles used the Market Street Bridge than any other in the state of Tennessee.

1917 also saw the invention of the Moon Pie.

The Chattanooga Bakery started making the famous treat, as legend has it, after seeking advice from coal miners, who said, they wanted a tasty snack to add to their lunch pales.

The Local History section of The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library is filled with pictures from the 1917 floods.

In March of that year, the Tennessee River rose so high Rossville boulevard looked like the canals of Venice.

The entrance to Warner Park wasn't much better.

You can barely see the wheels on this carriage, because they're under 42 inches of water.

The TVA took care of that problem a few decades later.

But while much has changed over the past 90 years, the Market Street Bridge still dominates the Scenic City's riverview and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.

Taking inflation into account, the original $1,000,000 price of the Market Street Bridge would be nearly $16,300,000.

One reason for high price tag, during construction in December of 1915 a 28-foot stage flood swept a span of the bridge ten miles down river, and it had to be replaced.