Shadle Bridge
Description
In 1930, the West Virginia Bridge Commission authorized the construction of a span across the Kanawha River. Construction began that year, with Holmes Construction Company acting as the primary contractor for the project. It opened to traffic on August 12, 1931, replacing a floating bridge that was unreliable at times of high water. The new two-lane cantilever bridge had a total length of 1,664 feet and charged a toll, which was removed on July 4, 1945.The Shadle Bridge was named after H. E. Shadle, head of the state bridge commission.
Source: Bolte, Jason. "Boomtown." Point Pleasant. Charleston: Arcadia, 2007
Facts
- Overview
- Lost Cantilever through truss bridge over 1st St, Kanawha River on Wv 2
- Location
- Point Pleasant, Mason County, West Virginia
- Status
- Replaced by a new bridge
- History
- Built 1931; imploded December 16, 1998
- Builder
- - Holmes Construction Co.
- Design
- Other
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 600.1 ft.
Total length: 1,668.1 ft.
Deck width: 21.3 ft.
- Also called
- Point Pleasant-Henderson Bridge
WV 2 Bridge - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +38.83667, -82.14000 (decimal degrees)
38°50'12" N, 82°08'24" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 17/401057/4299268 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Gallipolis
- Inventory number
- BH 58248 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Related Bridges
- Bartow Jones Bridge (Successor)
Sources
- K. A. Erickson
- Point Pleasant-Henderson Bridge - Bridges & Tunnels entry
- Geoff Hubbs
Comments
I lived in Addison, Ohio(1979-81). With traffic lights at both ends, you were guaranteed a stop on this bridge. I remember waiting on this bridge as a coal truck went by, the bridge shook so hard, my head hit the the car ceiling.(This was before seatbelts.) During this time, a police officer also fell thru the grating on the bridge & broke his leg. At 50, I still freak on suspension bridges! When I talk about this bridge, I know people think I've exaggerated, But here is the proof of its existance & POOR rating. I can't believe it took another 20 years to build a new one.
It did have a metal grate floor. It made driving over it a little unnerving, especially when the grates shook and rattled.
thanks for clearing that up chet.i forgot that when you go over those truss bridges they do make noise like singing.now I can drink at home.
More likely than not, it had a metal grate deck which produced noise. Some 20th century truss bridges had that.
And the Piano Bridge in Fayette County, Texas got its name from the sound made when driving over its decking.
He might mean "singing" bridge. Some roads and bridges have transverse grooves cut in the roadway for traction in bad weather that will make a high-pitched tone at certain speeds. Parts of I-287 in northern New Jersey are like that--a singing highway.
singing bridge?dont you mean a swinging bridge?never heard a bridge sing.that would be a first.gotta get drunk for that one.maybe sing along the drunker I get.
This bridge was a singing bridge
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/wv/mason/shadle/
I was born on Dec 20, 1966, nearly a year before the collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967. I lived in Gallipolis, Ohio for the first six years of my life and remember crossing the Shadle bridge many times as a child. It stands out in my mind because crossing it scared me and filled me with dread. It was very narrow and the sound of the steel grated bottom was loud and added to the feeling of being in a precarious situation. Because it was so narrow across it seemed as though you were barely missing the oncoming traffic. At some point before the new bridge was built , pavement was placed on the Shadle Bridge which really helped take the edge off that scary feeling because I no longer could hear that awful noise. I still hate crossing bridges regardless of their safety.