Y Bridge

The Y Bridge is a three-way bridge at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers in Zanesville, Ohio.

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The Y Bridge is a three-way bridge at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers in Zanesville, Ohio. It carries U.S. Route 40 along Main Street and the National Road, as well as Linden Avenue. At the time of its construction, it was the only bridge in the United States with a Y configuration, and it was also among the earliest American bridges to use concrete and steel. ³

The name “Y Bridge” came into use around 1880. ⁶ Before then, the structure was known as the Zanesville Bridge to distinguish it from the Putnam Bridge. Later, the two crossings were referred to as the Upper and Lower Bridges. By 1880, local newspapers had begun calling it the Y Bridge, and on July 23, 1902, a heavy brass tablet bearing the name “Y Bridge” was installed on the bridge.

In 1973, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

First Y Bridge

The crossing had long been part of the nation’s transportation network. In 1798, Zane’s Trace, the first road authorized by Congress, was completed between Wheeling and southwestern Ohio and passed through Zanesville at this location. ³ In 1826, the National Road reached Zanesville and also used this crossing. Before the Muskingum River was regulated by a series of dams and locks in the mid-19th century, severe floods frequently damaged or destroyed bridges at the site. ²

A series of Y-shaped bridges later occupied the crossing. Financed by Moses Dillon and his partners, ⁹ the first was built by Rufus Scott in 1813 to replace a ferry at the mouth of the Licking. ^{3 4 9} It consisted of an uncovered wooden bridge connected to a center pier with limestone walls four feet thick and filled with loose stone and earth, while the other piers were wooden trestles. The bridge opened on November 16. ⁹

Tolls were charged for its use. Passengers paid 3 cents each, 4 cents for a horse and rider, 12.5 cents for a two-wheeled carriage drawn by two horses or oxen with driver, 37.5 cents for a larger vehicle, and 75 cents for a four-wheeled wagon drawn by two horses. ⁹

The wooden bridge proved fragile. Despite repairs over the following four years, it collapsed in 1818. ^{2 3 9}

Second Y Bridge

A second wooden bridge was erected in 1819. ⁹ It was partly covered and had cambered lower chords, giving it a rolling appearance. Growing traffic on new roads in the area placed greater demands on the structure, and a winter flood in 1831–1832 left it unsafe. After thirteen years of service, it was condemned.

Third Y Bridge

The third bridge, a wooden Buckingham through-truss covered bridge, was completed in December 1832. ^{2 3 9} Financed by local stockholders, it was built by a team headed by Ebenezer Buckingham. ^{4 9} His son, Catharinus Buckingham, later a graduate of West Point in the class of 1839, designed the bridge, which was constructed of poplar. ⁴

When the third bridge was under construction, a flood weakened it. ⁹ Ebenezer led a crew of workmen to repair the damage, but one span collapsed and threw Buckingham to his death in the river.

The bridge collected tolls. Stockholders received dividends of 18% per year, plus a reserve fund for rebuilding every 20 years. ⁹

Opposition to the tolls led the legislature in 1868 to authorize the Board of Public Works to pay $19,000 for the main branch of the Y Bridge used by the National Road. ⁹ The city contributed $8,300 for the Linden Avenue branch, and the county paid $16,500. Once those payments were made, the tolls were removed.

The bridge remained in service until 1900, when Muskingum County commissioners closed it after an inspection by the Osborn Engineering Company of Cleveland found it unsound and unfit for use. ^{2 3} The commissioners then began seeking proposals and funding for a replacement. ³ The county proposed a bond issue, but many farmers opposed it because it would increase taxes. They ultimately agreed to support the measure provided construction costs did not exceed $200,000. [9]

The county commissioners placed the question of a new bridge on the ballot. ⁹ In Zanesville, voters approved it by 4,982 to 370, while voters in the county outside the city opposed it by 3,520 to 2,987.

Fourth Y Bridge

In April 1900, the Muskingum County Commissioners awarded the contract for plans, specifications, and construction supervision for a replacement bridge to the Osborn Engineering Company. ³ The American Bridge Company won the design competition, and Edward Landor designed the new bridge and supervised construction as resident engineer. ^{1 9} Landor had previously served as president of the Wrought Iron Bridge Company before its purchase by the American Bridge Company in 1900, and he worked for American Bridge from 1900 to 1901. The Berlin Bridge Company of New Berlin, Connecticut, received the construction contract.

The fourth Y Bridge opened to the public in January 1902, and construction was completed in April 1902. ³ Its base construction cost was $188,000, with additional expenses of $6,316, for a total of $194,316. It was one of the earliest bridges in the United States to use concrete-steel construction and, at the time, the only Y-shaped bridge. The Zanesville Courier stated that one of its spans was believed to be the flattest arch yet used in a bridge built for ordinary traffic, allowing for the largest possible waterway opening.

Structurally, the 1902 bridge consisted of eight elliptical, reinforced-concrete, spandrel-filled arches resting on stone masonry piers and abutments. ³ The piers were set directly on bedrock with only a concrete leveling course between the masonry and the rock, and it is probable that stone piers from the earlier bridge were reused. In designing the structure, Landor used the Edwin Thacher patented system, in which steel bars were embedded in the concrete arch rings in two layers. Fifteen pairs of steel bars were used in each span, and the stress diagrams were developed by Landor with the assistance of F. E. Barnes.

The 1902 bridge carried traffic for 79 years and was the only bridge in Zanesville to survive the great flood of March 1913. ^{3 9} During the flood, railroad cars washed from an upstream bridge, struck the Y Bridge, and destroyed its concrete parapets and balustrades. Floodwaters reached 51.8 feet and completely submerged the structure, but after the waters receded, the bridge remained usable with repairs, with the balustrades replaced with pipe railings. All other bridges in Zanesville crossing the Muskingum River had collapsed.

The bridge stood relatively unchanged until 1953, when a partial failure occurred in the first span of the Linden Avenue leg. ³ Part of the spandrel wall and the railing were damaged, and the construction joints in the soffit of the arch opened. The damage was repaired, the existing fill of sand, gravel, and cinders was replaced with granular slag to reduce dead load, and the open joint was repaired with pneumatically placed mortar.

In November 1970, Modjeski & Masters inspected the bridge and reported weak areas beneath the railing supports and concrete loss over the steel strap reinforcement. ³ They found that the transverse joint in Structure 3, Span 1, was slightly open and beginning to resemble a crack, though they still considered the bridge to be in generally good condition with only minor repairs needed.

In November 1977, Franklin Consultants conducted another inspection and updated the earlier report. ³ Core samples taken from eight locations showed compressive strengths ranging from 4,920 to 10,000 psi and chloride contamination from 0.04% to 0.67%. The report found increased deterioration at the damaged construction joint in Span 1 of the Linden Avenue leg, extensive map cracking in the spandrel walls, and efflorescence stains at many construction joints, indicating moisture seepage through the barrel arches from the interior fill.

A follow-up inspection on September 6, 1979, focused on the Linden Avenue span. Because an access excavation over the suspect joint was inconclusive, a 15-ton load limit was imposed. ^{3 8} An underside inspection on September 19 found that the joint had opened about one-quarter inch on the tension side to a depth of seven to eight inches, and that some of the bottom reinforcing steel had broken at the rivet heads. The load limit was then reduced to five tons, and monitoring at control points was initiated to detect any further movement. On December 15, the County Engineer found a downward movement of 0.02 feet and ordered that part of the bridge be closed immediately. A steel beam under the arch was erected at a cost of $35,000 in January 1980, allowing the Linden Avenue span to reopen with a five-ton live-load limit.

By August, a subsequent inspection determined that the originally proposed repair project was no longer feasible and that the superstructure would have to be replaced. ³ Engineers also found signs of overstressing in Span 2 of Structure 1, including opening construction joints at the soffit of the arch and an unacceptable live-load response for a concrete arch.

Fifth Y Bridge

On December 9, officials met in Columbus to discuss the future of the Y Bridge. ⁸ Franklin Consultants reported that nothing above the piers could be salvaged and that the structure was deteriorating rapidly. A replacement bridge was soon approved, and federal, state, and local officials agreed on a steel-girder design. Although representatives of historic preservation interests argued for a reconstruction that would replicate the 1902 bridge, that option was rejected due to its higher cost and longer construction time. At a second meeting on December 23, state officials and Franklin Consultants agreed on a steel-girder bridge with exterior details intended to preserve some of the historic appearance.

An open house held on January 20, 1981, showed that local residents wanted a replacement bridge built as quickly as possible and favored a steel design because it was less expensive and could be erected faster. ⁸ A majority also voted against reproducing the concrete balustrades and parapets of the earlier bridge.

By September, several design features had been revised. ⁸ The new bridge was to include enhanced railings, light poles, and parapets. Its steel girders would be haunched to suggest the form of the earlier spandrel arches, and the exterior girders would be painted white to resemble concrete. The historic piers from the 1832 bridge were also to be preserved and reused. Preliminary environmental and engineering studies for the project were completed at a cost of $300,000.

On November 26, 1982, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) awarded the contract for demolition of the old bridge and construction of the new spans to C.J. Mahon Construction Company of Grove City. ⁸ Although the state had estimated the work would cost $4.657 million, Mahon submitted the low bid of $3.163 million.

The fourth Y Bridge was closed to traffic on January 10, 1983. ⁸ During demolition, workers uncovered historic brick pavement and streetcar rails, and also found that the bridge had been filled with sand rather than soil in order to reduce weight. Two-ton trucks removed 500 loads, or about 1,000 tons, of sand. The bridge’s eight concrete arches varied in thickness from 30 inches at the center to four feet at the piers, and controlled blasting was used to bring down the arches, with the final blast occurring on May 6.

During demolition, ODOT revealed on May 23 that only the Linden Avenue span of the 1902 bridge had actually required replacement. ⁸ Problems discovered during demolition indicated that a construction error had left that span essentially flat rather than properly arched. ODOT estimated that replacing only that span would have cost between $500,000 and $800,000. It also found that most of the concrete in the old bridge remained in good condition aside from weathered surface deterioration, which could have been repaired.

Construction of the new bridge began on July 27 and moved quickly. ⁸ The historic piers were capped with concrete, girders were set in place, and concrete was poured for the roadway and sidewalls.

Zanesville dedicated the new Y Bridge with a series of events on October 5 and 6, followed by a church service on October 7. ⁷ The celebration opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and included an auction of souvenirs from the old bridge, the release of 1,500 balloons by schoolchildren, appearances by Miss Ohio, music, dancing, flyovers by airplanes and experimental aircraft, and fireworks.

Canal Lift Bridge

U.S. Route 40, the National Road, and Main Street once crossed the Muskingum River Canal on a lift bridge. A replacement girder bridge without a lift component was completed in July 2002. The lift span was no longer necessary, as commercial traffic no longer passed beneath the crossing, though it remains open to recreational boaters.

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Gallery

Historic – HAER

Credit: Clayton B. White, October 1981, for the Historic American Engineering Record.

Historic – National Archives Catalog

Historic – Ohio Department of Transportation

Postcards

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Details

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Sources

1. Schneider, Norris. Y-Bridge City: The Story of Zanesville and Muskingum County, Ohio. World Publishing Company, 1950.
2. “History.” City of Zanesville, Ohio.
3. Yearby, Jean P. Y-Bridge. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER No. OH-22), 1986.
4. Martin, Chuck. “A look at Muskingum County’s history.” The Times Recorder, 21 Feb. 2005, pp. 1A-7A.
5. “Story of Bridges Provides Colorful Chapter in the History of Zanesville.” Sunday Times Signal, 3 Jul. 1949, p. 23.
6. “Y Bridge Had Other Names.” The Times Recorder, 3 Oct. 1984, p. 1.
7. “Weekend Events Outlined.” The Times Recorder, 3 Oct. 1984, p. 1.
8. Schneider, Norris. “Y Bridge Nears Opening Date.” The Times Recorder, 3 Oct. 1984, pp. 4-5.
9. Schneider, Norris. “First Of Five Bridges Linked Towns In 1814.” The Times Recorder, 3 Oct. 1984, p. 5.