Wheeling Suspension Bridge
| Wheeling Suspension Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View from the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, 1977. |
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| Carries |  WV 251 |
| Crosses | main channel of the Ohio River |
| Locale | Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Designer | original: Charles Ellet Jr. redesigner: Wilhelm Hildenbrand[1] |
| Design | suspension bridge originally: Gravity-anchored currently: cable-stayed[1] |
| Longest span | 308 metres (1,010 ft)[1] |
| Beginning date of construction | 1847[1] |
| Completion date | 1849, 1854, 1859, 1872[2] |
The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the main channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was opened in 1851. It was designed by Charles Ellet Jr., who also worked on the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.
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The initial competition to build the bridge involved a competition including Ellet and John A. Roebling.[2]
In 1854, a strong windstorm collapsed the deck of the bridge, forcing Ellet to rebuild it. Since then, it was rebuilt in 1859 by Ellett's partner William McComas, in 1874 by William Hildenbrand, and most recently by the West Virginia Department of Highways in the early 1980s[2]. The bridge remains in active service.
The bridge spans a distance of 1,010 feet (308 m) across the Ohio River so as to allow boats to pass underneath it. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the USA that is still in use. The bridge is listed as a National Historic Landmark and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The bridge was designed prior to the advent of the automobile. At the time of construction, a horse and buggy was the heaviest live load that would be expected. Currently, the bridge has a (per vehicle) weight limit of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) making it unsuitable for trucks, buses, or other heavy vehicles.[3]
Traffic is advised to keep at least 50 feet (15 m) between vehicles. Additionally, traffic lights at both ends only allow a certain number of cars onto the bridge at one time.
| Wheeling Suspension Bridge | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1849 |
| Architect: | Charles Ellet Jr.; Washington Roebling |
| Architectural style(s): | Other |
| Designated as NHL: | May 15, 1975[4] |
| Added to NRHP: | January 26, 1970[5] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 70000662 |
| Governing body: | State |
- ^ a b c d Wheeling Suspension Bridge in the Structurae database
- ^ a b c Jackson, Donald C. (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. Wiley, p.159. ISBN 0-471-14385-5.
- ^ Validated Analysis Of Wheeling Suspension Bridge
- ^ "Wheeling Suspension". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge
- List of crossings of the Ohio River
- List of historic sites in Ohio County, West Virginia
- List of Registered Historic Places in West Virginia
- Wheeling Suspension Bridge including pictures
- Wheeling Suspension Bridge at Bridges & Tunnels.
- Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record: Wheeling Suspension Bridge Page
 Flood of 1852 - Earliest known photograph of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.[1] |
 A view of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge from Wheeling Island. Located directly behind it is the Fort Henry Bridge. |
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