Bridges and Tunnels

[Sherman Cahal]

These are photographic updates along the Ohio River, from Ashland, Kentucky to Louisville and some points in between.

I start out with the Ben Williamson Bridge - in green, and the Simon Willis Bridge - in blue, in Ashland. The Ben Williamson Bridge was constructed from 1928 to 1932 and was a tolled facility until they were lifted in 1941. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1999 with a new driving deck and structural improvements, and was painted a battleship gray color. In 2007, it was repainted green.



The Simon Willis Bridge is newer, having been constructed between 1981 to 1985. For years, a second span over the Ohio River was proposed elsewhere in the city, to supplement or replace the Ben Williamson Bridge. Originally, the discussion centered on a bridge at 45th Street to connect to an Ashland bypass and US 52 in Ohio. Downtown merchants preferred a downtown bridge. And after US 60 south of Ashland to Interstate 64 was widened, this only congested traffic further on the Ben Williamson, which led to the decision to construct a parallel span in downtown.

The Simon Willis Bridge was repainted in a blue hue in 2007. Combined with the Ben Williamson's green, they comprise the city of Ashland's colors.




In nearby Ironton, Ohio is the historic OH 75 tunnel. Constructed in 1866 by Dr. B.F. Cory as a way for horses and buggies to access the iron furnaces in rural Lawrence County, the tunnel was bored through sandstone and limestone. In 1915, the tunnel was enlarged by the Mahlbe Brothers to 30-feet wide and was enough to accommodate two automobile lanes.It was closed and sealed in 1960 when a four-lane bypass was constructed to the immediate west as part of the OH 93 realignment and US 52 freeway construction development.

In 1989, the tunnel was reopened by the Ironton Lions Club as a haunted tunnel.




The Norfolk Western Railroad Osborn Run Bridge is located in Hanging Rock, Ohio and was constructed originally in 1901. In 1941, the bridge was given a concrete lining and other structural improvements.

A spur up Osborn Run once left from the bridge site to serve Hanging Rock Iron Company, but it has been long abandoned.

The bridge was converted into a roadway when the rail line was relocated further south when the US 52 freeway was constructed in 1960.






The Norfolk Western Railroad Little Scioto River Bridge is a Baltimore Warren through truss over the Little Scioto River. Paralleling it is the US 52 freeway, which was completed in 1964. Because of dimming light, I was not able to hike over to the bridge - that is for another day.



The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Bridge over the Ohio River between Limeville, Kentucky and Sciotoville, Ohio was constructed from 1914 to 1917 by the McClintick-Marshall Construction Company. The structurally massive railroad bridge was designed by two famous American Civil Engineers, Gustav Lindenthal, D.Sc., the Consulting Engineer and David Barnard Steinman, D.Sc., the designer and stress analyst. It was the longest continuous truss bridge in the world until 1935 and is still the prototype for continuous trusses today. I covered the history behind it in an earlier post.





The Gallia Pike Little Scioto River Bridge was constructed in 1926-1927 and carried US 52 until 1964 when the adjoining freeway was completed through Sciotoville. The span was rehabilitated in 1993.




Remnants of the pre-1926 bridge are still visible, such as the stone abutments and old roadway alignment.




Not much can be said about the John A. Roebling Bridge other than it was constructed from 1856 to 1866, and was used as a model for Roebling's next project, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. I used the advantages of evening light to capture three new photographs of this historic suspension span.





The Clark Memorial Bridge carries US 31 over the Ohio River between Louisville and New Albany, Indiana. Design work for the bridge began in September 1926 after much delay, and construction on the four-lane cantilever began in June 1928. It was finished in October 1929 and was tolled until 1946.





I end with the Fourteenth Street Bridge, which connects Louisville to Clarksville, Indiana.

The first proposal for crossing of the Ohio at Louisville came early, when James Guthrie formed the Ohio Bridge Company to construct a bridge in 1829. An architect from New England, Ithiel Town, was hired to design a wooden bridge, and a cornerstone was laid in 1836 by Twelfth Street in Louisville. The Panic of 1837 stopped further work, and additional capital could not be secured. An additional attempt was made in the 1850s, but the project was thereafter known as "Guthrie's Folly."

In the 1860s, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) and the Jeffersonville and Indianapolis Railroad (J&I) both desired a railroad crossing over the Ohio River. On February 17, 1865, the United States Congress authorized the construction of a bridge at Louisville, as there were no bridges across the Ohio River at Cincinnati or any place westward. The L&N financed the Louisville Bridge Company, and work on the new bridge began on August 1, 1867. Albert Fink served as architect and used his patented Fink truss design for the project. The design called for a minimum span length of 330 feet and one track. Stone for the piers was sourced from Bardstown Junction, Kentucky and Utica, Indiana.

At the time of its completion on February 12, 1870, the L&N Fourteenth Street Bridge was the longest iron bridge in the United States, featuring 27 spans over one mile. The bridge also included a swing span. Span lengths varied from 352 feet to 380 feet, and was high enough so that steamboats could make their way underneath via the Portland Canal. The height was so high that it added $150,000 to the construction cost, which totalled $2,003,696.27. Unfortunately, 56 men were killed and 80 injured during the construction process.

The Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the L&N's 60% ownership of the bridge, and commanded control of the crossing in the mid-1870s after acquiring the J&I tracks between Jeffersonville and Indianapolis. By 1882, the Pennsylvania Bridge was used up to 150 times per day, with communications controlled by semaphore. But by the 1900s, the bridge was being stressed - with 300 trains running on the bridge per day. Between May 1916 and January 1919, a new single-track steel superstructure was installed on the old stone piers. One pier on the Indiana side was removed, and that span length was increased to 643.10 feet in length which improved river navigation. A lift span replaced the swing span above the canal.

In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged to become Penn Central. Eight years later, it was placed under Conrail. The Louisville and Indiana Railroad purchased the Jeffersonville to Indianapolis line and bridge from Conrail in March 1994.

[Surrealplaces]

A bridge that needs no introduction


Golden Gate Bridge by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

[Surrealplaces]

and a bridge that does need an introduction..... Calgary's new Peace Bridge that recently opened.


Calgary Peace Bridge by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

[Chris BIGDoer]

The East Coulee road/rail bridge in Alberta Canada. Used by cars and by trains to access some nearby coal mines. In use until around 1980.

See more...
http://www.bigdoer.com/811/exploring...adrail-bridge/







Chris “BIGDoer”
We invite your comments either here or on our website.

Chris and Connie: Off the beaten path.
Hiking - Adventure - History - Exploration
http://www.bigdoer.com

[MichaeI57]

Nice pictures !
I like the american bridges like the green and blue ones

For a second, the second picture of the J.A. Roebling bridge really looks like the Brooklyn Bridge in NY !


Found this nice railway viaduct in France near Dijon (Viaduc de la Combe Bouchard)

[Sherman Cahal]

A Busy Holiday

It has been a busy holiday season at Bridges and Tunnels, involving some exhausting travels through small town Appalachia, work in the rustbelt of northeast Ohio, the rural farmlands of eastern Indiana and the snowy adventures in the highlands of West Virginia.

I began my holiday trips with a visit to several historic spans in Indiana on what was arguably one of the coldest days of the month. The lighting was also weak, buried under a heavy overcast, and it was lightly snowing. There was little snow cover, though. Armed with convenience store coffee, I trekked to my first stop, the Moscow Covered Bridge in Moscow. Constructed in 1886 by Emmet L. Kennedy, the two-span Burr Arch truss over Flatrock River was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. A F3 tornado did considerable damage to the crossing on the evening of June 3, 2008 and was rebuilt in 2010 with new and salvaged materials by Dan Collom & Sons.

The new Moscow Covered Bridge was dedicated on September 25, 2010.









Nearby was the Forsythe Mill Covered Bridge. Constructed in 1888 by Emmet L. Kennedy, the single-span Burr Arch truss is named for Asa Forsythe who owned the Hungerford Mill from 1870 to 1884.





The Norris Ford Covered Bridge was constructed in 1916 by Emmet L. Kennedy, and the one-span Burr Arch truss was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.





Just as old, the Milroy Bridge formerly carried North Railroad Street and IN 3 over the Little Flat Rock River in Milroy. The pinned Pratt through truss was constructed in 1901 by the New Castle Bridge Company of New Castle and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The abandoned span remains one of three Pratt trusses built by New Castle. The company was merged into the Central States Bridge Company of Indianapolis in 1905.











Below: The bridge deck is in poor structural condition.





I ventured into Appalachia to visit several small towns to document the courthouses and notable downtown structures for my partner site, UrbanUp. I did come across an interesting concrete arch bridge on the University of the Cumberlands campus in Williamsburg, Kentucky. Designed by Manley & Young and constructed by the L.W. Hancock company in 1920, this span was recently rehabilitated.





Closer to my hometown, the Bennetts Mill Covered Bridge is located in Greenup County near KY 7. After a decent, wet snowfall, I braved the slushy and snow covered roads to visit this oft-admired beauty.











That concludes the first update to Bridges & Tunnels for this new year. Stay tuned for some varied spans from South Korea in the next post!

[MichaeI57]

Lovely covered bridges ! We don't have any bridge like that here in France (and Europe I guess).
It always reminds me the game Need for Speed :p


A small bridge near my city, unknow but I like suspended bridge :


La Moselle - Pont Rapilly par Πichael C., sur Flickr


La Moselle - Pont Rapilly par Πichael C., sur Flickr


Unfortunalty, this bridge is falling apart. It will be destroy this year and a brand new bridge will replace it (check out this interesting project video : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwl...s#.UREEs2e_EsI )

[touraccuracy]

Roadtrips lead to lots of bridge photos:

The new crossing at the Hoover Dam while it was under construction:




Glen Canyon area, Utah:


Twin Falls, Idaho:


Bay Bridge, SF:


Golden Gate, SF:








Deception Bay, Washington:


California coasline, Bixby Bridge?


A different kind of bridge:


Even more different kind of bridge:

[initiald]

Sunshine Skyway, Tampa Bay:




Bridge over Lake Tillery, North Carolina:


Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo:


Two bridges on the Sumida River, Tokyo:




Main Street Bridge, Jacksonville:




Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York:


Manhattan Bridge:

[Sherman Cahal]

Sunset Over the Ohio

The sun sets along the Ohio River over the Carl D. Perkins Bridge between South Portsmouth, Kentucky and West Portsmouth, Ohio. The two-lane cantilever bridge was completed in 1988 and is named after Carl Perkins, a former U.S. representative from eastern Kentucky who was first elected in 1948.



[img width=800 height=532]http://bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/gallery/carl-d-perkins-bridge-truck-us-23-oh-852/20130120-_dsc8646-edit.jpg[/img]

[img width=800 height=532]http://bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/gallery/carl-d-perkins-bridge-truck-us-23-oh-852/20130120-_dsc8613.jpg[/img]

[MolsonExport]

wonderful thread.

[initiald]

This is a new pedestrian and bicycle suspension bridge in Raleigh over the Neuse River, one of several new bike/pedestrian bridges as part of a new comprehensive greenway plan.

[AviationGuy]

Fred Hartmann Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel

[IMG][/IMG]

(From Flikr, photographer is OneEighteen)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oneeigh...n/photostream/

[glowrock]

Great shot, AviationGuy! Now to add to this thread, a couple of shots of the George Westinghouse Bridge just east of Pittsburgh:

[glowrock]

And one more, this time the Wheeling Suspension Bridge:

[Sherman Cahal]

A Winter Drive

The winter of 2012 and 2013 has so far not been a disappointment, with more measured snowfalls than average and colder temperatures that has left southern Ohio and northern Kentucky blanketed with wet, sticky accumulation on more than a handful of occasions. Taking advantage of a weekend of snow squalls and mild winds, I packed my camera bag and hopped into my all-wheel-drive Subaru for a spin out into the country.

For a sleepy Saturday, I ventured into Brown County and revisited the Brown Covered Bridge. Constructed in 1878, this Smith covered truss is located north-northeast of New Hope along New Hope-White Oak Station Road. It's not the most photogenic, owing to its less than manicured appearance and the presence of graffiti, but it is standing and in good condition.





To the south is the abandoned New Hope Bridge that once carried US 68 across White Oak Creek in New Hope. Constructed in 1884 by the Lomas Forge and Bridge Works of Cincinnati, Ohio, the Whipple through truss was bypassed in 1960 with a new two-lane alignment. As reiterated in a previous post, the flooring on the bridge is in poor condition and would not be advisable to walk across, so I admired the span from a distance.



I first came across the George Miller Covered Bridge on George Miller Road a few years ago, but I could not locate the photographs to share on this web-site. But upon this revisit, trekking down snow covered roads and through barren fields of white is this Smith through-truss over West Fork of Eagle Creek. It was constructed in 1879 by John Griffith, agent and foreman of the Smith Bridge Company.





The Kirker Covered Bridge is located alongside OH 136 in Adams County. Constructed in 1890, the multiple Kingpost through truss crosses the East Fork Eagle Creek. The span was renovated and reinforced with steel rods in 1950 and when it was bypassed in 1974, the covered bridge was the second-to-last span of its type on the Ohio state highway system.

It is unfortunately not all that photogenic to photograph, given its proximity to the new alignment and the lack of vegetation on the western facade. Perhaps it would be more scenic with leaves on the trees or with fall color.



The North Pole Covered Bridge is more isolated, located along North Pole Road (CR 13) over Eagle Creek in Brown County. Constructed in 1875, the Smith covered through truss was rehabilitated in 1965, but was damaged in flash flooding in 1997. It's isolated location lends to more vandalism for the covered span, including graffiti, but it is otherwise unmarred.



The Higginsport Bridge is located on the former A&P Highway, or US 52, in Higginsport and crosses White Oak Creek. The one-lane Whipple through truss was bypassed in 1943. Due to a flooding Ohio River, the western approach was submerged.



I crossed into Kentucky to cover the minute Valley Pike Covered Bridge along Valley Pike Road north of Fernleaf. Constructed in 1864, this span features a 23-foot kingpost truss design and is the state's shortest covered bridge.







I ended my Saturday jaunt with the Dover Covered Bridge in Dover, west of Maysville. Once carrying KY 3113 across Lees Creek, this span was constructed in 1835 and is one of the oldest remaining covered bridges in the state. It is 61-feet-long and features a double set of queenpost trusses on both sides.





Sunday was a bit colder but equally as beautiful. The further south I traveled, the more snow there was to play with. But due to a late start, I was not able to cover as many covered bridges as I had wanted, and so I began with the Walcott Covered Bridge in Walcott, Kentucky. Constructed in 1824, the covered span was rebuilt in 1881 as a 74-foot king and queenpost truss and remained privately owned until 1953 when it was bypassed. In 1997 and 1998, the bridge was damaged in floods, and was relocated 400 feet east to a new site and reconstructed in 2002.



To the south, in Robertson County, is the Johnson Creek Covered Bridge. Constructed in 1874 with a 131-foot Smith truss, this historic span was in a state of disrepair for several years after flooding caused several support piers to separate from the bridge's foundation. The span began to lean and was closed to all traffic. Work to rehabilitate the bridge began in the summer of 2007 when a "horizontal tower of steel" was guided through the bridge for stabilization, but construction did not begin until after 2008.









The Goddard Covered Bridge is located across Sand Lick Creek and the lattice truss is 90 feet long. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and restored in 2006.





To the south is the Ringos Mill Covered Bridge, an 81-foot multiple King Post truss covered bridge. Funds were appropriated for its construction in 1867, and the span was constructed between 1869 and 1870. It was retired and subsequently bypassed in 1968.





I ended the trip with a drive down to Rowan County to visit a long closed truss that I came upon several years ago while on a routine drive near Morehead. Constructed in 1921 by HIPCO of Ligonier, Indiana, the one-lane bridge carried US 60 and was bypassed in 1948 with a new alignment.









As much as I am thankful for the snowfalls of this winter, the arrival of spring is only 16 days away!

[photoLith]

I love finding abandoned bridges like that, awesome photos too man.

[exvan]

Wow...I remember driving across that bridge while hunting with my dad.

[rawocd]

Just a few bridges(mostly in the bay area, but also NYC). All photos copyright Reed Wagner(me).


Golden Gate looking rather somber.


and in a Golden sunset


Old East Span of Bay Bridge, with the new span just becoming visible (few year old image).


Richmond-San Rafael Bridge


Verrazano

[Sherman Cahal]

Road Trip to Southern Kentucky

Planning for a trip to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky always involves careful routing to maximize daylight photography opportunities and to maximize the number of bridges and tunnels seen. Deep valleys, winding one-lane roads and detours are almost always a certainty, and traveling from one point to another is never a straight line. My goal for this journey was to photograph four bridges that will be replaced in the near future with new spans, and to explore more of my home state.

My first visit along my 600 mile travel was the Heidelberg Bridge in Heidelberg, which carries Kentucky Route 399 over the Kentucky River. The polygonal Warren through truss was constructed in 1968 and replaced an earlier span at that location.





The Heidelberg Bridge (Riney-B) was located adjacent to the Heidelberg highway span and carried the Richmond, Nicholasville, Irvine & Beattyville Railroad (Riney-B) Sturgeon Creek branch.

The 2.98-mile line was constructed by the Kentucky Coal Development Company from Heidelberg to Ida May via Sturgeon Creek from March 1907 to January 1908. The Riney-B was acquired by the Louisville & Atlantic Railroad on November 1, 1909, only to fall into the hands of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad a year later. The Sturgeon Creek branch provided a connection to the Kentucky, Rockcastle &*Cumberland*Railroad, but a lack of traffic on the branch caused it to be discontinued on April 13, 1935.

Only the piers remain today.



I had to pass eastward towards Jackson, and Kentucky Route 30 was the most logical route. It was a slow and tortious two-lane road, but it offered some great photographic opportunities of classic Appalachia. The Kentucky Route 30 through truss bridge over the Middle Fork Kentucky River in Breathitt County was constructed in 1935 and is one of the more generic highway spans in the state with little ornamentation. It's still better than an even more generic reinforced concrete span.



After visiting a closed school and photographing the county seats of Booneville and Jackson, I waited for the sun to fall. I came across the Kentucky Route 1812 pony truss bridge over Quicksand Creek near Jackson that was constructed in 1929 and snapped away, hoping for car trails on this full-moon night.



Below:*I revisited it the next day for an*additional*photograph.



Located adjacent to the Quicksand Creek Bridge is the Robinson Road/County Route 1387 through truss over the North Fork Kentucky River. Constructed in the early 1900s, the bridge is scheduled to be replaced with a new 350-foot, two-lane span. Even fewer vehicles used Robinson Road than Kentucky Route 1812, and I waited for over one hour for the perfect shot: car trails that exhibited a car traversing a pothole ridden driving surface.



Below:*And in daylight.



I drove further south towards Hazard to complete some additional night photography before finding a hotel. The*Combs Bridge carries Kentucky Route 80 over the Kentucky River in Combs and the three-span Parker truss was constructed in 1929. It is slated for replacement.



Below:*I revisited it the next day for an*additional*photograph.



South of Hazard is the Glomawr Bridge carries Kentucky Route 451 over the North Fork Kentucky River in Glomawr. The Parker through truss was constructed in 1927 and is slated for replacement in 2013.

The Transportation Cabinet and Federal Highway Administration is currently*soliciting*a new owner for the bridge. The program allows government agencies, historic preservation organizations or individuals to reconstruct the bridge if its original characteristics are retained at the new site. Historic organizations and individuals must be approved by the state historic preservation officer to be eligible. The Transportation Cabinet and the Federal Highway Administration will pay the costs of marking parts of the bridge, disassembling it,*transporting*it to the new site and off-loading it. The recipient is responsible for all other costs, including site preparation, reassembly, replacement of parts suitable for the proposed use, and approaches.



Below: The span looks much better in daylight.







I spent much of the next day traversing the ridges and valleys of Perry and Breathitt counties.*I began my morning in Hazard and came across*Town Mountain Road Bridge*that carries Kentucky Route 451 over the North Fork Kentucky River.*The span was completed in 2009 and is named after Mayor William D. Gorman, who led the city from 1978 until his death on October 9, 2010. The structurally massive bridge is aesthetically pleasing, although it has little to no vegetation worth noting around it. A little landscaping would go a long way.





Further south is the North Fork Kentucky River Bridge for old Kentucky Route 15 in Jeff that was constructed in 1926 by the Atlantic Bridge Company of Greensboro, North Carolina. It was bypassed in 1969 with a new alignment.



The Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) surveyed a route from Jackson south to the headwaters of the Kentucky River's North Fork to access rich coal veins of the eastern part of the state. A report on the survey was submitted on May 19, 1903 by Major R.H. Elliott of Birmingham, Alabama. No action was taken on the report until 1909 when the L&N acquired the Lexington & Eastern Railroad, which extended from Lexington to Jackson. An engineer, J.E. Willoughby, was sent out to locate a line from Jackson south into the coal fields, an attorney followed soon after acquiring right-of-way.

By October 1910, 80% of the right-of-way was secure and by January 1, 1911, construction had commenced on much of the alignment. The L&N spent $5.7 million to construct 101 miles of track from Dumont near Jackson to McRoberts along the North Fork Kentucky River, requiring 16 bridges.

The Jeff Railroad Bridge was constructed in Jeff by the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company in c. 1910 - c. 1911.











Further north along the same railroad is the*Lothair Railroad Bridge*that was constructed by the same company in the same timeframe just south of Hazard. A pedestrian suspension bridge paralleled the railroad but it has long since collapsed.





Immediately north of the bridge is the Lothair Tunnel.



The Campbell Tunnels are located near near Napfor north of Hazard,*and were constructed circa 1911.



Even more remote is the*Line Tunnel*located near Barwick between Breathitt and Perry counties,*and was constructed circa 1911.



The Kentucky Union Railway*(KU) was a railroad that extended for 95 miles from Lexington to Jackson. The company was incorporated in 1872 to reach coal and timber resources in the southeastern reaches of the state. Construction did not begin on a rail line until 1886 when 14.7 miles of railroad was completed from Kentucky Union (later the L&N) Junction east of Winchester and Clay City. The line was extended west to Lexington in 1890 and southeast to Jackson in 1891 for a total of 92 miles. The route included six tunnels and 20 bridges.

The O&K Tunnel is located 1.37 miles north of Jackson at O&K Junction and was constructed in*1891. The*Ohio & Kentucky Railway*(O&K) diverged from the tunnel and traveled northward.



The North Fork Kentucky River Bridge is located north of Jackson, and carries Kentucky Route 3193 over the North Fork Kentucky River.*The bridge was constructed in 1910 as part of the*O&K, which once extended from O&K Junction 1.37 miles northwest of Jackson to the Licking River in Morgan County. The railroad was abandoned in 1933 and parts of the*rail bed*were converted into a roadway.









I hope you enjoyed this trip down into the hills of southeast Kentucky!