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.

The location of the bridge was considered to be one of the worst along the Ohio River for a crossing. The river on the Ohio span, although on the outside of the bend, was shallow with a rocky bottom. The low water channel was on the Kentucky span, while at flood stage, the principal current would switch to the Ohio side.(3) A clear width of 370 feet had to be kept open over the Kentucky span to allow for the passage of coal barges, which dicated that a cantilever erection for the Kentucky span and falsework erection for the Ohio span. The Kentucky cantilever involved the construction of two temporary steel bents under the landward portion of the Kentucky span.

Further complicating matters was the issue of ice. It was decided that the falsework on the Ohio span had to be anchored with rock filled cribs, placed far apat so that ice could drift and pass between.

The structure opened on July 31, 1917 and featured twin tracks with two main spans, each 775-feet in length, deck truss approach spans that measured 152.5 feet each, and plate girder viaducts that measured 822 feet for the north approach and 1,062 feet for the north approach. It remained the longest continuous truss bridge in the world until 1935 and is still the prototype for continuous trusses, and the completion of the crossing marked a major advancement in the art of bridge engineering and was a major achievement in continuous truss analysis.

Further Reading

• Read more about the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad’s Sciotoville Ohio River Bridge’s fascinating history, and view more than 30 photographs!

The need for a replacement came as early as 1921, when plans were submitted to the War Department for the replacement of the Whipple trusses with a double track superstructure, reusing the existing piers. But opposition led to that idea dying fairly quickly. In 1932, a supplementary freight line for the IC was completed from Edgewood south to Reevesville, connecting to an existing IC line from St. Louis that utilized the existing Metropolis, Illinois-Paducah, Kentucky Bridge. The secondary line connected to the IC at Fulton, Kentucky.

On May 25, 1946, the IC requested Modjeski and Masters to complete a study of the current condition of the Cairo Bridge. In the report, the company stated that the reinforcements to the bridge in 1914 and in the 1930s increased the dead load carried by the spans and that there were a number of points on all of the spans were the pins had been worn out. As a result, the distribution of stresses were hammered along the bars of the end hanger members - where one bar, for instance, carried 97% of the total live load stress due to pin wear of an outer eyebar.

The expansion rollers had also been worn to an elliptical shape, and the shoes had developed pockets into which the rollers fitted that resisted expansion movements. As a result, some cracks were formed in the stone masonry of the piers that required steel banding. The report also stated that the Whipple trusses under live loads were overstressing the bottom chords by 30% and 45% of the 518.6-foot and 400-foot spans, and that there were varying amounts of overstresses in the top chords and end posts, and bottom laterals under high wind.

The report recommended that the live loads and speeds not increase on the Cairo Bridge, and that the existing crossing be replaced as it had reached the end of its useful life. To keep the bridge in service, an anemometer was installed so that when high winds were reported, trains would be prohibited from the bridge.

Plans to replace the bridge began in July 1947 under Modjeski and Masters. Early studies focused on constructing a bridge 150-feet upstream from the existing bridge and using some of the existing approaches, given that there were concerns with high water and drift hazards that a temporary bridge could encounter during the reconstruction process. During the development process, consideration was given to a channel span of 648-feet, the same as the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Bridge at Henderson, Kentucky, but to give a good arrangement of trusses on the new bridge, the channel span length was increased to 688-feet, with a navigation clearance of 668-feet, or 20-feet more than the L&N Bridge.

After discussing the options with the Army Corps of Engineers, a revised plan was developed for a new bridge 150-feet upstream, with the main channel closer to the Illinois shore, with a main cantilever span for the channel with a 721-foot length. Piers IX through V would remain in place, with new piers C through G being replaced. On the Kentucky approach, 255-foot deck spans would be constructed to replace three existing 405-foot through spans. A formal report was submitted to the War Department in July 1947 for approval.

Elevation of the proposed bridge, from the War Department permit application of July 1947.

The approved War Department permit.

A public hearing was held on August 26, and opposition developed among river boat interests who called for a longer clear navigation. The IC Metropolis Bridge was 700-foot, and the Cairo Highway Bridge was 800-foot.  The desired length was 800-feet. Instead, the IC submitted an application for reconstruction of the existing bridge on the existing alignment, which was approved by the Chief of Engineers and the Assistant Secretary of the Army on July 6, 1948.

Because of the poor conditions of some piers, a concrete jacket would be needed around Piers X, VIII and VI to stabilize them for the long term. An encasement, two feet thick, was designed to be attached with expansion anchors to alternate stone courses by a pattern of anchors.

Plans for Pier B.

Plans for Pier VIII.

Encasement work on Pier VI.

In early 1948, Modjeski and Masters were requested by the IC to prepare plans and specifications for the reconstruction of the Cairo Bridge. The new design incorporated all riveted through truss spans of the same lengths as the original bridges, except for the 1,215-foot section over the Kentucky bank where three 405-foot through trusses would be replaced with six 200-foot deck trusses. Specifically, the superstructure consisted of two 518.11-foot and four 400.11-foot Warren Through truss spans, and six 197.7-foot deck truss spans. The widths would vary, 25-feet for the 518-foot spans, and 22-feet for the 400-foot spans. The new construction involved 3,884.675-feet.

The contractor submitting a bid was required to do the work of constructing the new spans and shifting the spans in a manner as to meet the navigation requirements set forth by the Department of the Army. Because of the high cost of detouring all freight to the Metropolis Bridge, the bidding contractors were required to state as an item of their bid the number of hours of detour time which was evaluated at one-half the estimated cost of detouring trains. An equal penalty was provided for exceeding the time in the bid.

Substructure

The scope of the work involved in Substructure Contract No. 1 was to complete changes and additions to the substructure of the existing bridge to adapt it to the new superstructure. This involved the encasement of Piers VI, VIII and X with reinforced concrete anchored to the existing stone and supported on tremie seal supplemental footings, which were to be supported by steel bearing piles. It also involved cutting recesses in Piers II to V for the bearings of the new deck truss spans, and the construction of three new reinforced concrete piers at the midpoints of each of the through spans between Piers II and V for the new deck trusses. Bids for this contract were received on May 4, 1949 and on May 21, the contract was awarded to the Kansas City Bridge Company and the Massman Construction Company, who had bid jointly. The contractor began shipping in equipment in early June and construction began on July 19. The contract required that the work be completed for the superstructure construction within one year and that all work on the pier be finished 150 days after that.

Forms for caisson on Pier C.

New Piers B and C.

The first concrete pour for this contract was made at Pier C on November 2. The initial process involved batching the three mixer trucks at a ready-mix plant that was located about 1/4-mile north of the north end of the bridge, then hauling the trucks to the top of the levee, back down the trestle where the concrete would be dumped into a hopper, and from the hopper into 1.0 cubic yard buckets on a pontoon which would be transported across the river via a tugboat. The concrete would then be transferred via a pumpcrete machine by crane to the vicinity of Pier C. This was a very slow process, and only 10.5 cubic yards of concrete were poured per hour.

To speed things up, a narrow, 3-foot gauge railroad was built from the Kentucky bank to Pier C and employed one engine and two flat cars in the spring of 1950. A 6.0 cubic yard hopper was set up over the river end of the railroad so that the concrete could be dumped by gravy into the three 1.0 cubic yard buckets that were discharged into the forms by a crawler crane. The pours were faster, at 25 to 30 cubic yards per hour.

Superstructure

The scope of the work for Superstructure Contract No. 2 was to replace nine through trusses, six Warren through trusses and six deck trusses. The contract specified that the bridge would continue to operate through the reconstruction of the superstructure, with a bonus and penalty of $200 per hour for time either saved or lost compared with a total number of hours of anticipated detour time that each contractor would provide. Bids for the superstructure were received on September 1, 1949 with the American Bridge Company being awarded the contract with a detour time of 292 hours listed in their proposal.

The contract specified that the American Bridge Company was limited to the erection of the spans on falsework adjacent to their final position, which would then be rolled into place. To facilitate quicker construction, two of the 200-foot deck truss spans for the Kentucky bank were adapted to provide falsework for the river spans. The trusses were slightly strengthened and a few members were added to extend the spans for full-length falsework. Two short spans were supported at each pier by a steel bent resting partly on the pier and partly on a steel pile foundation, and at midpoint by a common steel bent supported by a steel pile foundation. They could then be moved by picking up the components and moving them via a barge.

The contractor began assembling crews and equipment on April 24, 1950, and preliminary work involved the construction of a field office and the preparation of barges for derricks and for mounting structural towers for moving falsework spans. Falsework bents were built for Span 10, and two falsework deck spans were completed. Preparations for erection work were finished on September 2.

Diagram of steel erection of the 518'-11" span.

Span 10 erection showing storage platform for locomotive crane.

Due to the complexities of the requirements as to the maintenance of river and rail traffic, the contractors developed a scheme of erecting the new truss and the disposal of the old span, which involved the rection of a span on falsework complete with track, the rolling out the old span onto falsework, the rolling in the new span, and the launching and salvaging of the old span. The old spans were rolled out and set down on temporary end supporting framework (sled) on the upstream side of the bridge, and were launched into the Ohio River. It was a method that was far cheaper than dismantling the span component by component.

Launching sled for span 8.

Rolling in span 10 at 9:53 AM.

Rolling in span 10 at 10 AM.

Rolling in span 10 at 10:27 AM.

Rolling in span 10 at 5 PM.

Rolling in span 10 at 9:53 AM.

Rolling in span 9.

Launching span 7.

Launching span 2.

The 200-foot deck spans on the Kentucky bank were erected near their final position and were rolled in. The falsework consisted of steel bents that were kept to a minimum by trussing up the bottom chords with wire ropes in four-panel lengths for the initial stage, and then after the web members and top chords were filled in, by cantilevering the remaining four panels. The two 200-foot deck spans replaced one 400-foot through span, and were rolled together into place.

Contract No. 2 work was completed in May 1952 with only 119 hours and 45 minutes of detour time, much shorter than the 292 that the company had requested.  The shortened time was attributed to the launching of the trusses.

The reconstructed bridge.

Brown Road Bridge, which is located on Scioto Township Road 176 over Bokes Creek west of Delaware, was constructed in 1915 by the Bellefontaine Bridge and Steel Company. It replaced an earlier span that was washed out in the 1913 flood. The riveted Pratt through truss was determined to be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

In early 2010, the county engineering office studied options on whether to rehabilitate or replace the Brown Road Bridge. The crossing was found to be in poor structural condition, and the decision ultimately was made to replace the truss. The new bridge is estimated to cost $2.3 million. The federal local bridge program funded up to 95% of the estimated $1.5 million in construction and engineering costs, with the remainder coming from Delaware County road and bridge funds.

Right-of-way and utility work is currently ongoing for the replacement bridge.

A little closer to development and equally as endangered, the Orange Road Bridge is a through truss bridge over the Olentangy River on West Orange Road in Powell immediately east of OH 315, the Olentangy Heritage Corridor. Constructed in 1898 by the Toledo Bridge Company, the 9-panel, pin-connected Pratt through truss is historically significant for its design. It is one of two remaining Pratt through trusses built by the Toledo Bridge Company.

The truss replaced the “Thomas Bridge,” a wooden crossing that had been washed out in a flood.

The substructure was built by McDonald & Cook and is sandstone. The deck was originally wooden, built of 3-inch burr and white oak timbers, although it was later given an asphalt overlay.

In 1970, the Orange Road Bridge was rehabilitated. During the project, the Ohio Bridge Company of Cambridge, Ohio raised the bridge, removed the old bridge seats, and added new ones that were concrete reinforced with steel. Four hip verticals, the first vertical members beyond the portal, were reinforced with the addition of 32-foot, 1.25-inch diameter vertical rods between each pair of 2-inch x 5/8-inch vertical square bars. In the 1980s, the east abutment was faced with concrete.

At its spring 2001 meeting, the Ohio Historic Bridge Association passed a resolution recommending the preservation of the Orange Road Bridge. The bridge was included in the National Register of Historic Places on June 26, 2002.

In 2005, due to structural deficiencies, a three-ton weight limit was imposed. A new bridge for Orange Road was completed in 2009. Due to the local, state and national significance of the bridge, the original Orange Road Bridge was not demolished.

Further Reading

• Brown Road Bridge
• Orange Road Bridge

Groundbreaking for the HV occurred on June 5, 1867 in Columbus, with the lower and upper HV spans over the Scioto River being completed on April 29, 1868.

There isn’t all that much information on the bridges in general, but it is known that the steel griders to the immediate north for the HV were replaced in 1910, and it is surmised that the Scioto River Bridge was replaced at that time. The T&OC bridges north of the Scioto River were replaced in 1920, and it is surmised that the Scioto River Bridge was replaced at that time. The 1910 and 1920 dates are sourced from the National Bridge Inventory.

From a dating perspective, that would correlate to their appearance. The HV bridge is to the right, and features slightly lighter gauge steel and more intricate trusses, whereas the T&OC bridge has heavier steelwork and less decorative elements.

The HV eventually went under the control of the Chesapeake & Ohio, later known as CSX. On June 1, 1999, Conrail was split between CSX and Norfolk Southern, with CSX receiving a 42% share of the ex-New York Central Lines, including the former T&OC line from Columbus north. With both the HV and the T&OC under CSX control, they commanded use of both Scioto River bridges north of the Mound Street Yard.

The Rich Street underpass was built in 1910 and surmised to have been enlarged in 1920. It was built as a five track alignment, with four mains and one siding, although the siding tracks were later removed.

Further Reading

• HV and T&OC Railroad Scioto River Bridge
• Hocking Valley Railroad at my partner site, Abandoned

The original Main Street Bridge was a multiple span, art-deco open-spandrel concrete deck arch bridge that was constructed in 1937. After it had substantially deteriorated, the bridge was closed in 2000 to traffic. Demolition began in August 2006.

Desiring an iconic bridge to replace the art-deco bridge, the city of Columbus contracted with Dr. Spiro Pollalis, professor of design technology and management at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design to design a new crossing. Also leading the design was DLZ Ohio, a Columbus-based architectural, engineering and environmental services company for project management, and HNTB as a partner for the lead structural design work. The design criteria was established by state and federal transportation officials, city leaders, the state historic preservation office, the Franklin County engineer, area residential and commercial developers that were near the bridge, the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the downtown association, among others.

Part of the financing was derived from $15 million from the State Infrastructure Bank and $8.3 million in city bonds for the bridge design. When bids were let for construction, the lowest construction bid was $44.1 million. The bridge, completed on July 30, 2010, was the first single inclined arch suspension bridge in North America and the fifth in the world to use an inclined arch superstructure. The cost of the bridge was $60.1 million.

It is beautiful and a testament to modern civil engineering. While I lament the loss of the art-deck open-spandrel arch that stood for so many years, it was in poor structural condition and that rehabilitation would only extend its lifespan for only a set number of short years before needing another infusion of funding.

Further Reading

• Main Street Bridge

Further Reading

• Sulphur-Bedford Road Bridge (KY 3175)

In 2008, the Clermont County Engineer’s office applied to the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program and received a $360,000 federal grant, which required a $90,000 local match. The office then hired a covered bridge consultant who presented five preservation options. After public meetings, the Engineer’s office settled on a $1.1 million plan that would involve constructing a new bridge inside the historic span while preserving most of the old bridge. The new crossing would consist of arches constructed of glued laminated timber and would increase the bridge’s weight to 12 tons, enabling emergency vehicles and school buses to cross.

Some groups opposed the plans, stating that rehabilitation of the existing bridge would be $400,000 cheaper.

On May 22, 2010, an overweight truck crossed the covered bridge and caused extensive damage to the structure. The county engineer’s office, upon hearing reports from area residents that the floor beams were damaged, immediately closed the span. A truck driver, crossing with a 11-ton vehicle that was well in excess of the 3-ton limit, was later charged and the driver’s company settled with the county for over $10,000.

Rehabilitation work could start in the spring of 2012 and be complete by winter.

Further Reading

• Stonelick Covered Bridge

The first major crossing that I came across was the Lincoln Trail Bridge between Cannelton, Indiana and Hawesville, Kentucky, connecting to IN 237 and KY 69. The first crossing near this location was the Hawesville ferry, which was in operation from 1831 to the opening of the two-lane steel trussed through bridge on December 21, 1966. The Lincoln Trail Bridge was tolled until the 1990s.

Thankfully, the rust-colored span is slated for repainting in 2012.

Crossing between Paducah, Kentucky and Brookport, Illinois is the Brookport-Paducah Bridge that carries US 45 over the Ohio River. Opened to traffic on May 8, 1929, the 5,300-foot ten-span crossing was built by the Rouse Construction Company, the Union Bridge and Construction Company and the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company. The designs vary on the bridge, from three Warren pony trusses, to one Parker through truss, nine Warren through trusses and four deck trusses. The bridge is narrow – the deck width is less than 20 feet wide, and sharp bends in the spans make driving across it an adventure.

Below is a 20 minute exposure of the span, with the Ohio River at a slightly elevated level.

The Paducah Ohio River Bridge carries Interstate 24 over the Ohio River between Paducah, Kentucky and Metropolis, Illinois. Constructed in 1973, the four-lane, two-span tied arch bridge functionally replaced the narrow Brookport-Paducah Bridge as the through route between the two states. The southern arch span measures 730 feet in length, while the northern arch span measures 630 feet in length. The bridge also features 17 continuous stringer approach spans.

Further west, at Wickliffe, is the cantilevered Warren through truss over the Ohio River that carries US 51, US 60 and US 62. Designed by Modjeski and Masters and completed by the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company and the Mount Vernon Bridge Company, the narrow two-lane route was completed in 1933. A toll was levied by the Cairo Bridge Commission until the construction bonds were paid off in 1948.

Cairo, Illinois is also served by the Illinois Central Railroad Bridge over the Ohio River, a major through line that is currently used by Canadian National Railway. It was the first railroad link completed between Chicago and New Orleans, and revolutionized rail travel along the Mississippi River.

The need for a railroad bridge in Cairo was great by the late 1800s, when as many as 500,000 railroad cars were being ferried across the Mississippi and Ohio River each year. Those shipments were valued at $60 million, the highest per capita in the nation. The Illinois Central (IC), incorporated in 1851, extended from Galena to Cairo, and connected major industrial and agricultural centers in Illinois. At Cairo, the IC connected to the rivers, taking advantage of the burgeoning steamboat traffic along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. At the time of its completion, the IC was the lognest single railroad operating in the United States at 700 miles in length.

The first bridge discussion came in January 1859 from James Clarke, IC Master of Transportation, who noted that the railroad’s natural connections were with the railroads leading to Mobile and New Orleans. But the passage of the Ohio River Bridges Act in 1872, heralded as a victory by steamboat operators, required more extensive planning, map, and profiles be developed for a crossing over the Ohio River than any other navigable waterway.

It was not until March 1887 that a site visit was made and the first proposal was evaluated. The proposed bridge site featured a river width of 4,000 feet. Two miles upriver, the width narrowed to around 3,000 feet, which raised the possibility of filling in with stone some of the shoreline to narrow the channel. But that idea was rejected, leading the engineers to design a 52 truss steel span bridge with a length of 10,560 feet, the longest of any metal bridge in the world. The total length, including trestles, was 20,461 feet, or 3.875 miles. The channel portion of the crossing consisted of nine pin-connected, Whipple through truss spans, two of which were 518.5 feet long and the other seven 400 feet long, and three 249 foot Pratt deck spans. The pin-connected Whipple trusses were also 18 inches longer than the 1877 Cincinnati Southern bridge as well. But the lengths of the Whipple trusses double panel diagonals led to less rigidity under load. 

The contract with the War Department stipulated that work on the Cairo crossing be started before March 29, 1887, and pile driving for the Kentucky approach had already commenced when Morison began preparing construction plans for the main spans. The contract was awarded in May to Union Bridge Company for the superstructure.

By the end of August 1889, the steelworkers from Baird had completed the last through truss.

Shortly after 9 AM on October 29, the first train crossed the bridge from Illinois into Kentucky. Work still remained on the bridge, which included construction on the floor, painting and other minor details that continued until March 1, 1890. The total cost was $2,675,457.92, or just slightly more than $200,000 over the original estimate.

Construction began in 1949 on a replacement truss for the Ohio River crossing, utilizing many of the original bridge piers. Built while keeping the existing span in place, work on the through truss was completed in 1952.

Click through to the Cairo Ohio River Bridge (Illinois Central Railroad) for an exhaustive history of this historic bridge.

Further Reading

• Lincoln Trail Bridge
• Brookport-Paducah Bridge (US 45)
• Paducah Ohio River Bridge (Interstate 24)
• Cairo Ohio River Bridge (US 51, US 60, US 62)
• Cairo Ohio River Bridge (Illinois Central Railroad)

A similar span was demolished in 2005 along SR 90 near Burnside. The old Warren through truss, constructed in 1950 as part of the Lake Cumberland project, was replaced with a 1,712 foot Warren through truss in 2005. The massive new four-lane crossing features COR-TEN weathered steel, which gives the appearance of rusting that only enhances its structural strength.

Further Reading

• Fishing Creek Bridge (KY 80)
• Cumberland River Bridge (KY 90)