Ironton-Russell Bridge

Dear Mr Baughn

I took these pics while visiting my dear grandmother the summer of 2007.... I grew up fascinated by this and several other truss bridges down in southern Ohio/ Kentucky area. Them "concrete things" (UCEB's) have replaced quite a number of trusses I crossed as a kid. I say the Ironton-Russell bridge should be left up as a bicycle/pedestrian crossing. There is falcon nests in one of the bridge's towers (KY side) and by law they cannot be disturbed.

I get an eerie feeling every time I cross the Ironton-Russell Bridge. I feel that if the deficiency has a rating of 7 then the money should be found to replace the bridge in 2008-2009 not in 2011. I mean I think a government grant or something should apply here, afterall the safety of the public traveling over the bridge should be first and foremost. The bridge is closed in sub zero weather because it could collapse in those temperature. I do believe that we pay enough in taxes to be able to drive across a safe bridge.

Some notes...

The bridge is monitored 24/7 by a strain gauge system installed a few years ago. Weight limits were maintained way above the minimum (3 ton) due to a study from the strain gauges, after ODOT was considering reducing the limits to 3 ton.

The Ironton-Russell Bridge when constructed (I've been told that it was originally built by Armco Steel) was the ONLY Ohio River crossing between Wheeling, WV (Wheeling Suspension Bridge) and Cincinnati, OH (Roebling Bridge).

It is by far the oldest surviving steel cantilever Ohio crossing, and is extremely historic in it's own right.

Originally the bridge had a wood deck. It was eventually replaced by a metal mesh deck, with some portions concreted.

It used to be a toll bridge, until the late 1980's.

It survived the devastating 1937 flood and the 1997 flood...

It has a very unique feature in that the approaches on the KY and OH sides are angled 90 degrees from the bridge alignment... This has caused MANY wrecks especially in winter... I was told that this was deliberately chosen at the time to limit speed on the bridge... No bridge of it's size in the world has this feature.

Some notes...

The bridge is monitored 24/7 by a strain gauge system installed a few years ago. Weight limits were maintained way above the minimum (3 ton) due to a study from the strain gauges, after ODOT was considering reducing the limits to 3 ton.

The Ironton-Russell Bridge when constructed (I've been told that it was originally built by Armco Steel) was the ONLY Ohio River crossing between Wheeling, WV (Wheeling Suspension Bridge) and Cincinnati, OH (Roebling Bridge).

It is by far the oldest surviving steel cantilever Ohio crossing, and is extremely historic in it's own right.

Originally the bridge had a wood deck. It was eventually replaced by a metal mesh deck, with some portions concreted.

It used to be a toll bridge, until the late 1980's.

It survived the devastating 1937 flood and the 1997 flood...

It has a very unique feature in that the approaches on the KY and OH sides are angled 90 degrees from the bridge alignment... This has caused MANY wrecks especially in winter... I was told that this was deliberately chosen at the time to limit speed on the bridge... No bridge of it's size in the world has this feature.

Since the I35W disaster, I've been avoiding the old bridge... I've crossed it tens of thousands of times.

Our local paper published the inspection ratings of all our Ohio River bridges, the Ironton-Russell Bridge is Structurally Deficient with a rating of 7.

It's in really poor condition with holes in the steel grate deck, some of which are patched over with steel plates. Replacement has been put off until 2011 at the earliest because the proposed cable stayed bridge came in over budget.

ODOT is going to do another major rehab of the bridge later this year once the 12th Street bridge in Ashland re-opens (it's being painted).

The roadway of this bridge is a combination of steel grate and asphalt. It's a high bridge and is quite thrilling (scary) on a motorcycle. Area is subject to very dense fog.