Wheeling Suspension Bridge

Wheeling Suspension Bridge

View from the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, 1977. Photo taken from City of Wheeling side, looking West toward Wheeling Island.
Carries WV 251
Crosses main channel of the Ohio River
Locale Wheeling, West Virginia
Characteristics
Design suspension bridge
originally: Gravity-anchored
currently: cable-stayed[1]
Longest span 308 meters (1,010 ft)[1]
History
Designer original: Charles Ellet Jr.
redesigner: Wilhelm Hildenbrand[1]
Construction start 1847[1]
Construction end 1849, 1854, 1859, 1872[2]
Wheeling Suspension Bridge

Photo taken from Wheeling Island side, looking East toward the City of Wheeling.
Location Wheeling, West Virginia
Coordinates 40°4′12.58″N 80°43′38.46″W / 40.0701611°N 80.7273500°W / 40.0701611; -80.7273500Coordinates: 40°4′12.58″N 80°43′38.46″W / 40.0701611°N 80.7273500°W / 40.0701611; -80.7273500
Built 1849
Architect Charles Ellet Jr.; Washington Roebling
Architectural style Other
NRHP Reference # 70000662
Significant dates
Added to NRHP January 26, 1970[3]
Designated NHL May 15, 1975[4]

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the main channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until 1851. Charles Ellet Jr. (who also worked on the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge) built it as the first to span the Ohio River.[5] It was an important link on the National Road, and strategically important during the American Civil War. Because it was designed during the horse-and-buggy era, 2-ton weight limits and vehicle separation requirements now apply.

The main span is 1,010 feet (310 m) from tower to tower. The east tower rests on the Wheeling shore, while the west tower is on Wheeling Island. The east tower is 153.5 feet (46.8 m) above the low-water level of the river, or 82 feet (25 m) from the base of the masonry. The west tower is 132.75 feet (40.46 m) above low water, with 69 feet (21 m) of masonry.[6]

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975.[4] It is located in the Wheeling Island Historic District.[3]

History

A charter was granted to the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company in 1816 to construct a bridge to extend the National Road (also known as the known as the Cumberland Pike because it began in Cumberland, Maryland) across the Ohio River. Although the U.S. Congress authorized the National Road in 1806, that bridge was not completed—although the road formally reached Wheeling on August 1, 1818, and in 1820 Congress authorized the road's extension to St. Louis, Missouri.

As discussed below another attempt was made more than a decade later, and litigation reached the United States Supreme Court two times, in 1849-1852 and again in 1854-56.[7][8]

Technology and delays

Since 1820 Congress had spent much money to clear navigation obstacles from the Ohio River, which flowed from Pittsburgh down through Wheeling (then in Virginia) to Cincinnati. Commerce down the Ohio River could reach the Mississippi River, which fostered the growth of St. Louis, Missouri as well as the ocean port of New Orleans, Louisiana. Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky had become a great proponent of such internal improvement because the Ohio River drained the northern part of the state, contributed to the growth of Louisville and brought Kentucky goods and as well as sent its produce to markets.

New steamboat technology helped goods move upstream as well as downstream. Still, ferrying the U.S. mail, as well as passengers and goods across the river at Wheeling to connect the two sections of the National Road was cumbersome and expensive. Maintenance also cost money, especially after floods in 1832 left debris as well as destroyed shore facilities. In 1835 Congress gave existing sections to the adjoining states, in order to pass on those maintenance costs. In the interim, both railroad and bridge technology had evolved. But navigation on the Ohio River between Wheeling and Pittsburgh remained hazardous at certain times of year (spring floods and summer low water).

The question became whether Pittsburgh or Wheeling would become a commercial hub eastward. Railroads through Pennsylvania connected Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, which had rail and water connections to New York City, and was a major international port in its own right. In 1835, a new incline railroad crossed the Appalachian mountains, connecting Pittsburgh by another route to Ohio produce and goods, and in 1846 Pennsylvania chartered a railroad to connect its state capital Harrisburg (which had many connections to Philadelphia) with Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was chartered in the 1820s and planned to lay track to Wheeling. Virginia investors were trying to fund and build first the James River Canal, then railroads through the higher Appalachian mountains of their state towards its capital (Richmond) as well as its major port (Norfolk). In 1836, a wooden bridge was built between Zane's Island and the Ohio shore, but a navigation channel still remained between Wheeling and that island.[9]

Pennsylvania legislators opposed federal legislation to authorize the Wheeling bridge. In 1836, Federal engineers proposed a suspension bridge with a removable section to enable clearance of steamboat smokestacks, but Congress tabled it. The U.S. postmaster's report urging a similar bridge in 1840 got lost. Another proposal requiring hinges on high steamboat smokestacks also initially failed. In 1844, a steamboat packet line began connecting Pittsburgh and Cincinnati (nearly bypassing Wheeling since the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad track would only be completed in 1853, the same year a packet line connected Wheeling and Louisville).

Construction and litigation

Included as the frontispiece to the Wheeling & Belmont Bridge Company's printed argument delivered to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Pennsylvania v. Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company, 54 U.S. 518 (1850).

After these and other delays, in 1847 the legislatures of Virginia and Ohio jointly issued a new Wheeling bridge charter. Charles Ellet and John A. Roebling were invited to submit designs and estimates for a bridge over the east channel of the river to Wheeling Island.[2] Ellett was the chief engineer of the Virginia Central Railroad and in 1853 would built a railroad over the Blue Ridge at Rock Fish Gap.[10] The new Wheeling bridge would be of a suspension design, since Ellet and Roebling were the foremost authorities. It would also be ninety feet above low water, which would impede the largest steamboats with high stacks. Ellet received the contract award in 1847 with at bid of $120,000 (Roebling's for a shorter double-span bridge was $130,000), began the same year, and the bridge was completed in 1849 for about $250,000.[6][10]

In the first litigation, the state of Pennsylvania (on behalf of Pittsburgh and steamboats) sued the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company and the Commonwealth of Virginia, calling the new bridge a nuisance and navigation hazard. At first, the Supreme Court appointed a special master (R. H. Walworth of New York) to accept evidence or even hold a trial. The Pittsburgh steamship company had built a packet with a 80-foot smokestack, and crashed it into the bridge shortly after it opened, in order to damage the bridge as well as buttress its case. Walworth found the bridge obstructed the 7 packets of the Pittsburgh steamboat line, which carried half the goods and 75% of the passengers traveling on the river. Ultimately the Supreme Court heard legal arguments. Despite the dissents of Chief Justice Taney of Maryland and Justice Daniel of Virginia, six justices led by Justice McLean in 1852 found the bridge obstructed navigation. Thus, Edwin Stanton won on behalf of Pennsylvania.[9]

That, however, did not cause the bridge's removal, because the court accepted the bridge company's proposal to study a removable portion as an alternative. Plus, the Ohio legislature petitioned Congress to save the bridge, which the Virginia and Indiana legislatures (and some dissident Pennsylvanians) joined. Through the efforts of Wheeling Congressman George W. Thompson and others, Congress designated the bridge a post road before the Supreme Court decision could go into effect.[9]

View west from the east end of the bridge in downtown Wheeling. Note the multiple warning signs restricting access.

Nonetheless, on May 17, 1854 a strong windstorm destroyed the deck of the bridge through torsional movement and vertical undulations that rose almost as high as the towers.[6]

The rebuilding caused the second round of Supreme Court litigation, which began in 1854 and was finally decided in 1856. It began when Justice Grier (a Pennsylvanian) issued an injunction against the bridge's rebuilding during the court's normal summer break. The bridge company asked Congress to investigate whether the judge had been bribed, and complained that the injunction violated both Congress's sovereignty and that of Virginia, which had authorized the bridge. Meanwhile, Ellet's workmen made temporary repairs in eight weeks (although further improvements by William McComas would take another year). Justice Nelson delivered the next opinion of the court, in December, this time upholding the bridge as an exercise of Congressional power over military and postal roads, despite Justice McLean's objection.[9]

During the American Civil War, Union forces generally controlled Wheeling, and the bridge was never blown up. Still, Confederate raids on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad were common, because of its strategic importance to Union forces. The Restored Government of Virginia was created after the Wheeling Conventions, and ultimately the state of West Virginia was recognized in 1863. However, additional Supreme Court litigation concerning its constitution (established at another convention in Wheeling in 1861) would continue until 1871, and apportionment of the debt Virginia had incurred in subsidizing the bridge and railroad improvements would not be resolved until 1915.

Technological improvements

In 1859 Ellett's partner William McComas made further improvements. In 1874 William Hildenbrand oversaw additional improvements. A 1953 report concerning the suspension cables found them either original or from the 1860 reconstruction. The deck stiffening truss is believed to be from the same period. Auxiliary stay cables were added in 1871-72 to a design by Washington Roebling and Hildebrand.

The bridge was sold to the city of Wheeling in 1927.[10] Additional repairs were made in 1930.

In 1956, the deck was completely rebuilt, when the road was widened from 16.25 feet (4.95 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m) and the sidewalks correspondingly narrowed. The road and sidewalk were reconstructed with an open steel grating that reduces wind resistance, and rests on lightened steel floor beams.[6]

Modern weight restrictions and issues

Looking east toward downtown Wheeling.

The bridge spans a distance of 1,010 feet (308 m) across the Ohio River and allows barges to pass underneath. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the United States still in use and is listed as both a National Historic Landmark and Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

In the early 1980s, the West Virginia Division of Highways restored the bridge.[2] The bridge remains in active service, but with weight and height restrictions since bridge was designed before automobiles and trucks were invented. At the time of construction, a horse and buggy was the heaviest live load that would be expected. Currently, the bridge has a (per vehicle) weight limit of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), making it unsuitable for trucks, buses, or other heavy vehicles.[11]

On February 17, 2011, a vehicle driving at high speed lost control and crashed into the sidewalk panels on the bridge. The bridge was closed for four to five days, first for inspection, then to repair the panels, as well as other minor repairs.[12][13] On March 2, 2013, a non-load bearing cable snapped, causing the bridge to be closed until the cable was repaired and detailed inspections were completed [14]

On March 23, 2016, the bridge was closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic after a Greyhound bus attempted to cross the bridge and damaged it.[15] It was reopened to all traffic (within the height and weight limits) after WVDOH inspected the bridge. High vehicles could be subject to crosswinds on the bridge.

In May 2016, the Wheeling police department vowed to begin enforcing the two ton weight and vehicle separations limits on the bridge more strictly.[16] Traffic is advised to keep at least 50 feet (15 m) between vehicles. Additionally, traffic lights at both ends only allow a certain number of cars onto the bridge at one time.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wheeling Suspension Bridge at Structurae
  2. 1 2 3 Jackson, Donald C. (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. Wiley. p. 159. ISBN 0-471-14385-5.
  3. 1 2 National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. 1 2 "Wheeling Suspension". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  5. ↑ https://bridgehunter.com/wv/ohio/wheeling-suspension/
  6. 1 2 3 4 Kemp, Emory (February 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form:" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  7. ↑ https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1229
  8. ↑ http://georgetownsteamboats.com/gs/2010/02/06/a-glance-at-the-wheeling-bridge-case/
  9. 1 2 3 4 http://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/wheeling-history/5279
  10. 1 2 3 http://web.mit.edu/1.011/www/finalppr/areyes-Wheeling_Bridge_Report_final.pdf
  11. ↑ Validated Analysis Of Wheeling Suspension Bridge
  12. ↑ http://wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=94494
  13. ↑ http://wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=94563
  14. ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/wheeling-suspension-bridge-oldest-of-its-kind-in-use-closed-after-cable-breaks-677855/
  15. ↑ http://www.yourohiovalley.com/story/31549508/wheeling-suspension-bridge-closed-indefinitely
  16. ↑ http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2016/05/weight-limits-on-wheeling-suspension-bridge-will-mean-heavy-fines/
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