The historic Wheeling Stone Arch Bridge carries WV Route 2 and Main Street over Wheeling Creek in Wheeling, West Virginia.
History
Designed by F. L. Hoge and A. L. White to replace a collapsed bridge, the construction of the stone arch crossing began by Paige, Carey & Company of New York City on November 3, 1891. 1 To build the arch, a temporary wooden arch consisting of 250,000 feet of lumber was erected to serve as a foundation to support the stones used to construct the permanent arch superstructure. 1 2 The 771 rocks used in the construction were quarried and cut at 29th and Eoff Streets.
Shortly after the keystone was placed on December 18, 1 the timber frame was removed and the bridge opened to traffic in early 1892. 2 At 159 feet in length, it was the longest single-span stone arch bridge in the country.
Gallery
Further Reading
- Placing the Keystone Over the Place of the Skull: Wheeling’s Main Street Stone Arch Bridge: Hidden in Plain Sight from Archiving Wheeling
- Wheeling Stone Arch Bridge from the Historic American Engineering Record – Library of Congress
Information
- State: West Virginia
- Route: WV Route 2
- Type: Stone Arch
- Status: Active - Automobile
- Total Length: 232 feet
- Spans:
- Deck Width: 30 feet
- Height: 28.5 feet
Sources
- Duffy, Sean. “Placing the Keystone Over the Place of the Skull.” Archiving Wheeling, 17 Dec. 2015.
- “Main Street Bridge.” Ohio County Public Library, 2021.