I often travel to Mason County, West Virginia for pleasure. Home to large family farms along the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, Point Pleasant, Mothman, the Silver Bridge disaster and the slowly-reclaiming West Virginia Ordnance Works, the region is both diverse and quiet. It functions as the crossroads for the region, serving as the terminus for the Kanawha, and as a through route for the U.S. Route 35 freeway bypasses the city to the south. The Norfolk Southern and CSX both play a large role in the region’s economy, much as the Kanawha and Michigan and the Hocking Valley did many years ago. And the steamboat era, although it has long passed with the demise of the Marietta Manufacturing Company in the late 1960s and the transition to diesel-powered boats, allowed the region to prosper and become prominent.
Because of its location along two rivers, Point Pleasant is home to several significant river crossings. The most significant of these is the Point-Pleasant-Kanauga Railroad Bridge, also referred to as the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River between Point Pleasant and Kanauga, Ohio. The first crossing was completed in 1885 without a single loss of life – a feat that had not been achieved during the construction of any other major bridge on the Ohio River at that time. The Bridge had a main span of 450 feet with two approach viaducts that brought the total bridge length to one mile.
The bridge was used by the Central Ohio Railroad for one year before it was foreclosed upon. From the foreclosure came three companies: the Ohio and Kanawha Railroad in Ohio, the Kanawha and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia and the Point Pleasant Bridge Company. Although listed as three separate companies, they functioned as one.
In 1889, three separate railroad companies merged to form the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad, operating a line from Point Pleasant south to Hawks Nest. One of the first projects for the new company was an upgrade of the Ohio River bridge. Completed in 1919 in place without interruption to railroad traffic, the superstructure was replaced and additional approach viaducts were built.
The new bridge consisted of:
- 1 38′, 9 30′, 9 61′ and 152′ deck plate girders, 1 200′ through truss, 9 metal towers, 1 metal bent, 1 stone pier and 1 concrete pier for a total length of 1,109 feet on the Ohio side of the bridge, and
- 1 420′ through truss , 3 250′ through truss, 18 30′, 11 60′, 5 45′ and 3 50′ deck plate girder and 1 71′ through place girder spans, with 5 stone and concrete piers and 19 metal towers for a length of 2,816 feet.
After the collapse of the fracture-critical Silver Bridge in 1967, Point Pleasant was left without an automobile crossing. For two years, until the Silver Memorial Bridge opened to the south, the Kanawha and Michigan Bridge ferried passengers between Point Pleasant and Gallipolis, Ohio.
So what of the Silver Bridge? Planning for a new span between Point Pleasant and Gallipolis across the Ohio River began in 1926, and construction began on May 1, 1927 and finished just a little over one year later. The two-lane eye-bar suspension span measured 2,235 feet in length and was designed to meet a “H-15″ load demand, and was given the nickname “Silver Bridge” as it was the first aluminium painted bridge in the region. The span also featured high tension eye-bar chains, a unique anchorage system and rocker towers, and was the first of its type in the United States. Tolls were collected until they were removed when the state of West Virginia purchased the bridge for $1 millon, becoming toll free on December 31, 1951. How’s that for a New Year’s treat?
Before and after the purchase of the Silver Bridge, it was given periodic inspections with recommendations for corrections and improvements. None of these were implemented due to cost concerns, although the bridge was deemed safe by engineers.
On December 15, 1967 at the height of rush hour, the Silver Bridge collapsed into an icy Ohio River, killing 46. Engineers discovered that there was a deficiency on an eyebar, which caused the entire span to fail.
Photograph provided by the FHWA.
Photo provided by the FHWA.
Two years later, the Silver Memorial Bridge opened to traffic. The new bridge was located south of the city on a new freeway alignment that connected to an existing U.S. Route 35 freeway alignment that was built earlier in 1967 – today’s Ohio State Route 735 (Google Map).
Crossing the Kanawha River are two equally important bridges. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge, a continuous through truss connecting Point Pleasant and Henderson, was built for the Ohio River Railroad. The rail line from Wheeling to Point Pleasant was completed in 1887, and southward to Guyandotte in 1888. It was replaced with a parker camelback truss in 1947.
Located just upstream is the Point Pleasant-Henderson Bridge, which carries West Virginia State Route 2 between Point Pleasant and Henderson over the Kanawha River. The first span, a two-lane cantilever completed in 1931, was referred to as the Shadle Bridge. The span charged a toll that was removed in 1945. A replacement was completed only 88 feet upstream and opened to traffic in December 1998, featuring four-lanes with shoulders and a center barrier. It was named the Bartow Jones Bridge. The Shadle Bridge was imploded shortly after.
Enjoy these photographs of bridges around Point Pleasant, West Virginia!
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