The South Side Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia, carries Dickenson Street over the Kanawha River, Kanawha Boulevard, MacCorkle Avenue, and railroad tracks.
History
The South Side Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia, carries Dickenson Street over the Kanawha River, Kanawha Boulevard, MacCorkle Avenue, and railroad tracks. This four-lane bridge consists of a Parker through truss main span and two Warren deck truss approaches.
The original South Side Bridge, completed in 1891, was the first fixed crossing over the Kanawha River in Charleston. 7 Built by the South Side Bridge Company, it featured a Pennsylvania through truss main span and Parker through truss approach spans. 2 It was operated as a tolled structure until March 1914, when the Kanawha County court acquired it for $250,000. The Farris Bridge Company remodeled the bridge in 1917, and E. R. Mills repainted it in 1927.
In 1926, the bridge’s load limit was reduced to five tons. 2 Repairs by the Neeld Construction Company in 1927, costing $35,500, increased the load limit to seven tons. In 1933, a new sidewalk was installed, and some steel was replaced at the Kanawha Street steps.
Due to overuse, the South Side Bridge required replacement. 4 The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) contributed approximately $312,000 towards this effort, with $163,000 allocated for steel and the remainder for labor. Charleston funded its share of the costs from a $330,000 bridge bond issue passed on December 5, 1935. The span over the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad tracks was financed with $40,000 from Federal Works Program grade crossing elimination funds allocated by the West Virginia State Road Commission as project number W.P.G.M. 277.
Designed by C. P. Fortney, 8 preliminary work began on January 20, 1936. 4 A construction contract for the new South Side Bridge was awarded in March to the Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for $223,541. 3
To keep the old bridge in service for as long as possible, while the new bridge was built in its place, new concrete piers were cast in place, and the stone piers were carefully removed.
Vehicles stopped using the old South Side Bridge on May 14, 1936. 2 Pedestrians were allowed on the bridge for about 30 additional days until temporary steps were erected from the bridge to Kanawha Street. The section from Kanawha Street to Virginia Street was then closed and replaced.
Following ceremonies held on the deck of the government towboat Iroquois on October 26, 1936, the main span of the old South Side Bridge was dropped into the river. 1 Speakers included Col. F. C. Harrington of the United States Army, assistant federal WPA administrator, and chief engineer of the WPA, who represented Federal Administrator Harry L. Hopkins. Other speakers were Charleston Mayor Dawson; Rev. Ernest Thompson of the First Presbyterian Church, who delivered the invocation; F. Witcher McCullough, state WPA administrator; Grover Smith, county WPA administrator; Burr H. Simpson, state road commissioner; Roy Bird Cook, local historian; and E. C. Smith, Jr., deputy state WPA administrator.
The new South Side Bridge cost $600,000 to complete 2 and was opened to traffic in April 1937. 4
In response to congestion on the South Side Bridge, reversible lanes were implemented in June 1970. 5 The experiment involved having three lanes southbound during the evening rush hour, with two lanes merging into one on the bridge ramp. In October, another experiment converted three lanes to southbound traffic only, with the fourth lane designated for motorists exiting the bridge onto Virginia Street. 6
As part of a $15 million public improvement initiative approved by city voters on June 18, 1989, the South Side Bridge was rehabilitated in 1990. 8 9 The bridge was rededicated on November 1 of that year.
Gallery
Information
- State: West Virginia
- Route: Dickenson Street
- Type: Warren Deck Truss, Parker Through Truss
- Status: Active - Automobile
- Total Length: 1,148' (1936)
- Main Span Length: 420' (1936)
- Deck Width: 38.7' (1936)
- Above Vertical Clearance: 15.2' (1936)
Sources
- “Dedication of Bridge is Held.” Charleston Daily Mail, 27 Oct. 1936, pp. 1-5.
- “Vehicles Use Span Last Time; Foot Traffic Still Permitted.” Charleston Daily Mail, 14 May 1936, pp. 1-4.
- “City Accepts Bid on Steel.” Charleston Daily Mail, 27 Mar. 1936, p. 4.
- “South Side Bridge.” The Historical Marker Database.
- “South Side Bridge Traffic Reverts to Original Plan.” Charleston Daily Mail, 22 Jun. 1970, p. B13.
- “S. Side Bridge Traffic Flow To Be Altered.” Charleston Daily Mail, 15 Oct. 1970, p. 9.
- “Old South Side Bridge.” West Virginia Encyclopedia.
- “Southside Bridge.” Historic Bridges.
- Blevins, Ernest Everett. “South Side Bridge.” West Virginia Historic Property Form, 3 Oct. 2018.