Rating:
11 votes

Wheeling Suspension Bridge

Ohio County, West Virginia
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Photos 

Oblique View From Wheeling Island

This antebellum bridge was, at one time, the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and today, may be the oldest suspension bridge, still in use, in the Western Hemisphere.

Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007

Map 

Street View 

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Suspension bridge over Ohio River on WV 251 in Wheeling
Location
Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1849; collapsed May 17, 1854; temporary bridge reopened July 26, 1854; permanent bridge reopened July 1860; improvements made 1871-72, 1886, 1922, 1930, 1956 and other years
Builders
- Charles Ellet (original 1849 construction, 1854 temporary reconstruction)
- Joseph Lawson (superintendent, 1865-1923)
- Washington A. Roebling (design of 1871-72 improvements)
- William Hildenbrand (1871-72, 1886 improvements)
- William McComas (1854 temporary reconstruction, 1859-60 improvements)
Design
Wire suspension
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 949.2 ft.
Total length: 1,307.2 ft.
Deck width: 20.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 22.7 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1970
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.07019, -80.72714   (decimal degrees)
40°04'13" N, 80°43'38" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/523267/4435583 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Wheeling
Inventory numbers
NRHP 70000662 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 35334 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 09/2011)
Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 13.4 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2008)
5,700

Categories 

19th Century (3,817)
Built 1849 (12)
Built during 1840s (87)
Charles Ellet (1)
Functionally obsolete (7,035)
Have street view (9,883)
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (41)
Joseph Lawson (1)
NR-listed (2,353)
National Historic Landmark (12)
Navigable waterway (1,448)
Ohio County, West Virginia (20)
 Ohio River (95)
Open (28,297)
Owned by state (9,805)
Span length 500-1000 feet (313)
Steel grate deck (381)
Suspension (278)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,210)
Washington A. Roebling (2)
West Virginia (982)
Wheeling, West Virginia (10)
William Hildenbrand (1)
William McComas (1)

Update Log 

  • October 7, 2010: New photos from Jason Smith
  • August 15, 2010: New Street View added by James Baughn
  • January 27, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Updated builder info
  • July 4, 2009: Posted HAER photos
  • March 19, 2009: Updated by Curtis Lee
  • October 8, 2008: New photo from Rick Mattioni
  • February 24, 2008: New photos from J.R. Manning
  • January 29, 2008: New photos from J.R. Manning

Sources 

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Comments 

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted March 4, 2013, by Jason Smith (JDSmith77 [at] gmx [dot] net)

This bridge has been closed to traffic due to a cable snapping at the top of one of the towers. See link:

http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/582091/Cable-Snaps-On-Suspension-Bridge.html?nav=515

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted December 7, 2010, by jason (ccmarsh15 [at] aol [dot] com)

The fixture on the tower may in fact be related to a gate as it was a toll bridge when first opened.

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted April 20, 2010, by Don Sayenga (Dsayenga [at] gmail [dot] com)

The designer of the original 1849 bridge was Charles Ellet Jr. who was the prime contractor for building it. The 1854 repairs to the bridge also were done by Ellet. Although several other engineers subsequently modified the bridge (notably William McComas and William Hildenbrand) the current appearance of the bridge is essentially the work of Joseph Lawson in 1872.

John A. Roebling was not in any way connected with the design and construction of the bridge at Wheeling.

The best reference for information about this bridge is: "The Wheeling Suspension Bridge - A Pictorial Heritage" by E.L. Kemp and B.R. Fluty,

Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., Charleston WV 1999

ISBN 1-57510-066-S

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted October 1, 2009, by David Fickey (dlf85oak [at] yahoo [dot] com)

Spent 2 nights next to the bridge. It is very beutiful at night. Here is my favorite pictures I took from my motel balcony. Anyone who loves bridges should go see this one!

Uploaded file: JPEG image data, EXIF standard 2.21, 2550830 bytes

Uploaded file: JPEG image data, EXIF standard 2.21, 2601733 bytes

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted August 18, 2009, by snoop (snoopdorkydork71 [at] gmail [dot] com)

What an awe inspiring bridge! I hope to get to see it in person some day.

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted October 11, 2008, by J.R. Manning (thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

David, I was standing when I took that photo. I'm 5'10" tall and was looking up. I haven't been able to find any evidence that the bridge was gated at one time, but I also can't prove that it wasn't.

Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Posted October 8, 2008, by David Smothers (davidsmothers [at] msn [dot] com)

As to the unknown fixture on the pier.... It's hard to see from the angle of the picture how high it is above the deck.... if it's not too high, I ahve a strong suspicion that it is a hitching post. Let's remember when the bridge was built, there would have been only horses....this is my best guess.