Ravenswood Bridge

The first crossing at this location was a ferry that operated between Water Street in Ravenswood and Lebanon Township, Ohio, beginning in 1908. ^[3]

The Ravenswood Bridge was completed in 1981 and was designated State Route 824 in Ohio and State Route 338 in West Virginia, connecting West Virginia’s State Route 2 to Ohio’s State Route 338. It was redesignated as U.S. Route 33 in 2003 when a two-lane expressway was completed in Meigs County.

In 2025, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) began conducting a feasibility study on the bridge’s future. ^[4] The goal is to replace the bridge with a four-lane structure or build a parallel two-lane structure as part of a series of projects along the U.S. Route 33 corridor between Columbus and the Ohio River to improve safety and efficiency. Ohio’s Freight Plan places the U.S. Route 33 corridor in the highest category of truck traffic growth, with more than 500 additional trucks per day for 2045. Related projects include converting the last 25.6 miles of two-lane highway to four lanes.

Two alternatives involve removing the existing bridge and building a new four-lane span, while a third alternative involves building a parallel two-lane companion span. ^[4]

The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) will replace the bridge deck in 2026. ^[1] The project will involve replacing the deck on span 8 with a cast-in-place reinforced lightweight concrete deck, and placing a new deck overlay on the remaining spans, cleaning and painting, repair to concrete parapets, repairing the deck drainage, replacing expansion and relief joints, and electrical repairs.