Rating:
10 votes

Purple People Bridge

Hamilton County, Ohio, and Campbell County, Kentucky

Photos 

Overview from Mt. Adams

Photo submitted by Jonathan Maxwell

BH Photo #108275

Map 

Street Views 

Facts 

Overview
Five-span through truss bridge over the Ohio River formerly carrying the Louisville & Nashville Railroad) and US 27 between Cincinnati and Newport
Location
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, and Campbell County, Kentucky
Status
Open to pedestrian traffic only
History
First built 1872 as a Whipple through truss bridge; reconstructed 1897; railroad service discontinued 1987; closed to road traffic 2001; rehabilitated and reopened to pedestrians 2003
Builders
- Edge Moor Bridge Works of Wilmington, Delaware (Superstructure)
- Hutte & Foley of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Substructure)
- M.J. Becker (Engineer)
Railroads
- Interurban
- Louisville & Nashville Railroad (LN)
Design
Major spans from north to south:
One 5-panel Pratt deck truss
One 6-panel (?) Pratt deck truss
One pin-connected, 20-panel Pennsylvania through truss
Four pin-connected, 8-panel Parker through trusses
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 509.8 ft.
Total length: 2,759.0 ft. (0.5 mi.)
Vertical clearance above deck: 21.1 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
Also called
Newport & Cincinnati Bridge (original name)
Newport Southbank Bridge (modern official name)
L&N - Ohio River Bridge
L&N - Purple People Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+39.09802, -84.49775   (decimal degrees)
39°05'53" N, 84°29'52" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/716389/4330634 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Newport
Inventory number
BH 27612 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (9,081)
20-panel truss (5)
5-panel truss (603)
6-panel truss (858)
8-panel truss (589)
Built 1897 (296)
Built during 1890s (3,280)
Campbell County, Kentucky (23)
Cincinnati, Ohio (170)
Edge Moor Bridge Works (81)
Hamilton County, Ohio (239)
Have street view (29,907)
Hutte & Foley (1)
Interurban (1,023)
Kentucky (1,431)
Louisville & Nashville Railroad (298)
M.J. Becker (1)
 NR-listed (3,016)
Ohio (4,681)
Ohio River (120)
Open to pedestrians (4,632)
Owned by state (16,656)
Pennsylvania truss (593)
Pin-connected (5,049)
Rail-to-trail (1,661)
Railroad (16,666)
Span length 500-1000 feet (408)
State line crossing (933)
Through truss (17,886)
Total length over 2500 feet (966)
Triple-barreled (8)
Truss (36,794)
US 27 (19)

Update Log 

  • February 14, 2022: New photo from Tony Dillon
  • February 10, 2022: New photos from Bambi Sharkoman
  • January 18, 2022: Updated by Paul Plassman: Added categories "5-panel truss", "6-panel truss", "20-panel truss", "8-panel truss"
  • September 25, 2017: New photo from Dave King
  • July 14, 2014: New Street View added by Ralph Demars
  • February 19, 2013: Updated by Nathan Holth: Added Super and Sub Structure Contractors, and Engineer
  • June 21, 2010: New photos from Anthony Dillon
  • April 11, 2010: New photos from James McCray
  • April 10, 2010: New photos from J.P.
  • April 1, 2010: Updated by Bill Eichelberger: Added Google Street View.
  • January 10, 2010: Updated by Bill Eichelberger: Added GPS coordinates.
  • November 12, 2008: New photo from Bill Eichelberger
  • November 28, 2005: Posted photo from J. Star

Related Bridges 

Sources 

Post a comment here

Comments 

Purple People Bridge
Posted February 12, 2022, by RICK SHELTON (shltn [dot] rck66 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

The scene not long after closing.

I remember watching trains coming across this from the vantage point of Riverfront Stadium back in the mid-80's.

L&N Railroad Bridge
Posted September 8, 2008, by Anonymous

Photo taken October, 1988.