Y-Bridge (Zanesville, Ohio)

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For other uses, see Y-Bridge.
The Zanesville Y-Bridge, seen from a high bluff south of the river confluence.
The Zanesville Y-Bridge, seen from a high bluff south of the river confluence.

The Zanesville Y-Bridge is a historic Y-shaped bridge that spans the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers in downtown Zanesville, Ohio. It carries the traffic of U.S. Route 40 (Main Street and West Main Street), as well as Linden Avenue.

It has been rebuilt numerous times since the 1850s. When being given directions, visitors are often struck by the statement "Drive to the middle of the bridge and turn right."

(New York City's Triborough Bridge spanning the confluence of the East River, Harlem River, and Bronx Kill has some topographic similarities to the Y-Bridge, but actually consists of three separate bridges which all meet at an island junction in the middle of the water.)

The first Zanesville Y-Bridge was constructed in 1814. Several iterations (some of them wooden covered bridges) were washed away by serious floods before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a series of dams and locks that now regulate the flow of the two rivers. The current concrete and steel bridge is the fifth in the series on the same location. It opened in 1984.

The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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