New River Gorge Bridge
NBI Information
Location
State: West Virginia
County: Summers County
Feature Carried: I-64 Eastbound and I-64 Westbound
Feature Crossed: CR 27/2 and New River
Latitude, Longitude: 37.7811,-80.9016 (EB) and 37.7812,-80.9002 (WB)
Toll: On free road
Maintenance Responsibility: State Highway Agency
Structure Open, Posted, or Closed to Traffic: Open, no restriction
History
Year Built: 1982
Historical Significance: Bridge is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Year Reconstructed: None
Picture Date: May 1, 2017
Geometry
Lanes on Structure: 2
Lanes under Structure: 1
Skew: 34 degrees
Number of Main Spans: 6
Main Structure Type: Girder and Floorbeam System
Main Structure Material: Steel continuous
Number of Approach Spans: None
Approach Structure Type: None
Approach Structure Material: None
Condition
Inspection Date: May 2021
Deck Condition: Satisfactory (EB) and Good (WB)
Superstructure Condition: Fair
Substructure Condition: Fair
Channel Condition: Good
Culvert: Not Applicable
NBI Year: 2023
The NBI lists this as two separate structures, an Eastbound Structure and a Eastbound structure. However, the bridges share a common superstructure and substructure, so they will be listed as one bridge on this site.
The NBI also lists this structure as a 6 span Girder and Floorbeam System, instead of a Arch - Deck. However, the bridge clearly has a deck arch main span with girder and floorbeam approach spans.
Bridge Information
The New River Gorge Bridge passes right through the New River Gorge National Park. The bridge was completed in 1977, and reduced the 40-minute drive down the narrow mountain roads to a drive that is less than a minute.
When it was constructed, this bridge was the world's longest single-span arch bridge. It is still the fifth longest in the world, with the others all being located in China (It is still the longest in the Western Hemisphere). In addition, this bridge is the third highest vehicular bridge in the United States (It's currently 34th in the world).
Although the design of this bridge is fairly conventional, the location and scale created many challenges during construction. It is located in a remote part of West Virginia, and is surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains. Due to the depth of the gorge, innovative engineering and construction techniques were required to build the bridge. A four-tower cable-way was constructed to span the gorge and allow airborne trolleys move the steel elements into place.
All of the structural steel used for the Bridge is USS COR-TEN B Steel, which is a type of weathering steel. This steel oxidizes when it it exposed to the elements, and forms a protective coating around the steel. This eliminates the need for paining, but increased the complexity of the design, since all of the elements need to weather at the same rate.
References
NPS: https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/nrgbridge.htm
Bridge Walk: https://bridgewalk.com/history-of-the-bridge/
NPS: https://www.nps.gov/places/new-river-gorge-bridge.htm
WV.gov: https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/bridge_facts/Modern-Bridges/Pages/NewRiver.aspx
