The total width of the deck is 62 feet (19 m), including the 38-foot (12 m) roadway plus two 10-foot (3.0 m) sidewalks outside the compressive plate girder.

The Rachel Carson Bridge was dedicated and opened during a noontime ceremony with Commissioner Babcock, Mayor Kline, and city council members including Herron and McArdle in attendance.

[2] The bridge was renamed on Earth Day, April 22, 2006, after years of lobbying by Esther Barazzone, president of Chatham University, the alma mater of the renowned environmentalist.

[3] On February 11, 2019, the bridge was closed to vehicles and pedestrians for a comprehensive rehabilitation project.

[4][5] The bridge reopened in November 2020 after the completion of a $23.3 million rehabilitation project.