Belva Railroad Bridge

Gallery

Between 1893-94, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad (C&O) constructed the 14.2-mile Greendale Branch between Gauley (now Gauley Junction) along the New River northward along the Gauley River and the waters of Twenty Mile Creek to Greendale. ^{1 5} The route included the erection of a 1,126-foot, seven-span Warren deck truss and pile trestle bridge over the Gauley River. ^{4 7}

The Greendale Branch later became known as the Gauley Branch and was used by the C&O’s successors Chessie and CSX Transportation (CSXT). Coal traffic along the line steadily declined throughout much of the 20th century as many of the early underground coal mines were exhausted.

In July 2012, CONSOL Energy idled its Fola surface coal mining site and its two associated preparation plants because of the depressed market demand for bituminous coal for power generation, coking and steel making, regulatory pressures by the Environmental Protection Agency, and costs associated with litigation by the various environmental groups. ³ The mine was the last customer along the Gauley Branch, and the Belva Railroad Bridge was placed out of service afterward.

In October 2016, CONSOL sold its Fola surface coal mining operations and associated preparation plants to Booth Energy. ² The company expected to restart operations but the collapse of bituminous coal usage for power generation in lieu of natural gas has stalled the project.