The Caruthersville Bridge is the northern-most bridge over the Lower Mississippi River, with the combined flow of the Upper Mississippi and the Ohio River. This bridge is interesting in that it is not symmetrical. The Tennessee side structure is much longer than the Missouri side structure. That is due to the bridge being located on a curve in the river, and the current is towards the outside of the curve, making the river deepest near the east bank. In the 2nd photo, you can see the rip-rap that was placed on the outside bank to keep it from eroding further and bypassing the bridge.

The Caruthersville Bridge sits in a geologically interesting place in that it is only 6 miles from the New Madrid Fault. A 1993/1994 study found that bed rock was located 2700 feet under the surface, so a significant earthquake event would almost certainly create severe liquefaction. The bridge as it stands would not hold up to liquefaction. Two proposals were developed to fix the bridge, one a partial retrofit, the second a total retrofit. The problem is that the price tags on these repairs are very expensive, so to date, the work has not been completed.