East Huntington Bridge

The East Huntington Bridge carries WV Route 106 and OH Route 775 across the Ohio River between Huntington, West Virginia, and Proctorville, Ohio.

Table Of Contents

History
Gallery

History

Planning

The East Huntington Bridge carries WV Route 106 and OH Route 775 across the Ohio River between Huntington, West Virginia, and Proctorville, Ohio. It is officially named the Frank “Gunner” Gatski Memorial Bridge.

Plans for a bridge linking the eastern outskirts of Huntington with Proctorville were in development as early as 1961. ² Although funds were secured through a bond issue in 1965, there was no resolution regarding the bridge’s location or design. ³

On September 14, 1970, the state Supreme Court scheduled a hearing for September 29. ³ This hearing was in response to a petition from eight Huntington residents, who were also Democratic election candidates in Cabell County. They sought to compel action on determining the location and initiating the construction of the bridge to the east of Huntington. These petitioners requested a court order against William S. Ritchie Jr., the state highway commissioner, and Republican Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr. Their aim was to ensure the selection of a bridge location that reflected the majority preference of Huntington’s citizens and to expedite the commencement of design or construction contracts.

The debate over the location of the East Huntington Bridge was prolonged. Huntington’s comprehensive city plan proposed building the bridge further upriver, outside the city limits, and directly connecting it to Interstate 64. This plan aimed to create an eastern bypass around the metropolitan area. Meanwhile, an alternative proposal suggested a location through Lewis Hollow, about one mile north of Huntington along WV Route 2. Regardless of the location, both plans envisioned a two-lane bridge with an estimated construction cost of $16 million.

In September 1971, the state finalized the decision to place the bridge near 32nd Street, at the mouth of the Guyandotte River. ⁷ This choice sparked controversy. During the gubernatorial campaign, the incumbent Governor Arch A. Moore faced criticism over this proposed location. ⁸ He argued that it was the most cost-effective and logical choice. Contrarily, Moore’s opponent, John D. Rockefeller, publicly supported the alternative site at Lewis Hollow. Rockefeller and opponents of the bridge site claimed that the location would adversely affect the environment. Opponents went as far as to seek an intervention from the federal congressional delegation. ⁹

The Coast Guard issued a permit for the construction of the East Huntington Bridge in July 1974. ⁵ By 1976, the projected cost of the bridge had escalated to $27 million. ⁴ This figure was $20 million more than the funds that were available at the time for the project.

Construction

For the design, the Coast Guard suggested a modification in the design of the bridge’s piers to allow for a broader river navigation channel. This revision involved replacing the initial plan of one central pier with two separate piers. One pier was relocated closer to the Ohio shore, and the other was shifted 300 feet into the river from the West Virginia bank.

Two design alternatives for the bridge were developed: one using concrete and the other using steel. ⁶ For the steel design, temporary river supports would be necessary to install the steel girders. In contrast, the concrete design could be constructed using a balanced cantilever method for the cable-stayed portion, with the box girder section being built on temporary frameworks.

The bridge was designed by Arvid Grant & Associates of Olympia, Washington, along with David Goodyear and Holger S. Svensson of Stuttgart, Germany. Leonhardt, Andrä & Partners of Stuttgart also contributed as consulting engineers. ⁶

Melbourne Brothers of Ohio won the construction bid with an offer of $23.5 million for the concrete version. ⁶ They engaged Contech Consultants, Inc. for construction engineering services.

Construction of the East Huntington Bridge commenced in 1983. The cable-stayed section’s girders were made from pre-cast concrete segments, each weighing 250 tons. ⁶ These segments were created off-site using the long line casting method, transported by barge, and then lifted into place with a 600-ton floating crane. The bridge’s southern approach was built using the cast-in-place cantilever method. Both precast and cast-in-place sections used high-strength concrete with a compressive strength of 8,000 psi.

Construction scheme of the East Huntington Bridge. ⁶

Opened on August 8, 1985, and completed at a cost of $38 million, ¹⁰ the East Huntington Bridge was a pioneering structure in West Virginia and only the third of its kind in the United States. ¹ It was also the world’s second concrete cable-stayed bridge. The bridge received recognition in the 1985 PCI Professional Design Awards Program. ⁶

Cable-stayed suspension bridges, first developed in Europe during the 1950s, were traditionally constructed using steel until the 1970s. ¹¹ The United States saw its first such bridge in 1978, located in Washington state. Arvid Grant & Associates, the firm responsible for designing the East Huntington Bridge, also designed this Washington state bridge and subsequently the Veterans Memorial Bridge further upriver.

The bridge features a 900-foot main span, a 608-foot side span, and approach spans at both ends. ⁶ Its total deck width is 40 feet on the main and side spans, and 33 feet on the approaches, with a 30-foot curb-to-curb roadway width. The cable-stayed portion includes a concrete slab supported by steel floor beams, which are spaced nine feet apart and framed into two longitudinal concrete edge girders where the cables are anchored. The approaches are made of box girders and conventional steel girders.

At its southern end in Huntington, the bridge connects to US Route 60 and WV Route 2. There were plans for a later phase to extend the approach to the junction of US Route 60 and 8th Avenue which were never built.

Gallery

Information

State: Ohio, West Virginia
Route: WV Route 106
Type: Cable-Stay Suspension
Status: Active - Automobile
Total Length: 3,787'
Main Span Length: 900'
Spans: 608', 300', 158'
Deck Width: 40'
Roadway Width: 30'
Total Height: 370'
Above Vertical Clearance: 33'

Sources

“Points of Interest .” Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau, 16 Mar. 2004.
“Ohio R. Bridge Site Approved in Huntington.” Raleigh Register, 31 Oct. 1961, p. 2.
“Court Will Hear Demand To Force Span Erection.” Beckley Post-Herald, 15 Sept. 1970, p. 9.
“Huntington Bridge To Cost $27 Million.” Charleston Daily Mail, 28 Aug. 1976, p. 3B.
“The News In Brief.” Beckley Post-Herald, 26 Jul. 1974, p. 1.
Tang, Dr. Man-Chung. “Construction of East Huntington Bridge.” PCI Journal, vol. 32, no. 6, 1987, pp. 32–48.
“Huntington Bridge Near Bidding Stage.” Marion Star, 28 Sept. 1971, p. 11.
“Moore Defends Location of New Bridge.” Piqua Daily Call, 14 Jul. 1972, p. 7.
“Gov. Moore Pressing For Action on Bridge.” Marion Star, 8 Feb. 1973, p. 18.
“Bridge opening to be delayed.” Telegraph-Forum, 10 Jul. 1985, p. 17.
Chambers Jr., S. Allen. “East End Bridge (East Huntington Bridge).” SAH Archipedia.