Turning 50 | Compiled by Lori K. Tate Photography courtesy of Davidson College
The Bridges of Lake Norman
The Buffalo Shoals Bridge The great flood of 1916 washed the initial Buffalo Shoals Bridge away. It originally crossed the Catawba River about a mile north of Long Island Village. A new bridge was constructed by October 1918. In the interim, a ferry service allowed travelers to cross the river where the bridge once stood. The second Buffalo Shoals Bridge was torn down in late 1962 after a new concrete bridge was built directly north of it, as the 1918 bridge could not have withstood the creation of Lake Norman.
Crossing the lake in old and new ways
The Old Highway 150 Bridge The Old Highway 150 Bridge still exists. However, it now resides under the waters of Lake Norman. The new Highway 150 Bridge was built 33 feet higher and approximately 100 feet north of the old bridge.
The Beatties Ford Bridge
Lake Norman Currents | May 2013
These days most of us associate Beatties Ford Road with being an alternate route when I-77 shuts down because of traffic, but before Lake Norman, there was the Beatties Ford Bridge. It carried the preLake Norman route of Highway 73 across the Catawba River. It was demolished during the construction of Lake Norman. LNC
The Scoop For more information, please visit the Under Lake Norman portion of the Davidson Archives & Special Collections website, which can be found at www.davidson.edu. Special thanks to Jan Blodgett, Davidson College Archivist, for her assistance with this piece.
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