Wheeling Suspension Bridge
NBI Information
Location
State: West Virginia
County: Ohio County
Feature Carried: WV-251
Feature Crossed: Ohio River
Latitude, Longitude: 40.0702,-80.7267
Toll: On free road
Maintenance Responsibility: State Highway Agency
Structure Open, Posted, or Closed to Traffic: Bridge closed to all traffic
History
Year Built: 1849
Historical Significance: Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Year Reconstructed: 1999
Year Closed: 2019
Picture Date: January 2, 2023
Geometry
Lanes on Structure: 2
Lanes under Structure: 0
Skew: 0 degrees
Number of Main Spans: 1
Main Structure Type: Suspension
Main Structure Material: Steel
Number of Approach Spans: 0
Approach Structure Type: None
Approach Structure Material: None
Condition
Inspection Date: April 2022
Deck Condition: Good
Superstructure Condition: Poor
Substructure Condition: Satisfactory
Channel Condition: Fair
Culvert: Not Applicable
NBI Year: 2023
Bridge Information
The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is iconic both in its looks and in the history behind it. This bridge was built in 1859, after the original 1849 bridge collapsed in 1854. The structure is 1,301 feet long, with a main span length of 949 feet, and is constructed as a wire suspension bridge with timber Howe pony stiffening trusses.
The historic significance of this bridge is without compare. It is one of the few bridges to be designated a National Historic Landmark, which is the highest honor the United States bestows upon historic structures. The original 1849 bridge was the first suspension bridge of its kind built in the world! Both the original bridge then the new bridge held the title of the longest suspension bridge in the world until the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, and this bridge is the oldest suspension bridge still in use (this claim is debatable, since it is currently only open to pedestrian traffic).
The first bridge was built by Charles Ellet Jr., and it linked the eastern and western sections of the national road. This was also the first bridge to cross a major river west of the Appalachian Mountains, which caused litigation in the US Supreme Court about the obstruction of the high steamboat smokestacks. The court proceedings eventually cleared the way for many other bridges, which was especially important in allowing the expansion of the railroad.
On May 17, 1854, a strong windstorm destroyed the deck of the bridge. (Fun fact: the deck was destroyed through torsional movement and vertical undulations, which is very similar to the much more famous collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940). A temporary bridge was placed, and John A. Roebling began work on a new suspension bridge.
The new bridge reused the stone towers, anchorage housing, island approaches and even some of the main cables, and the bridge has the general appearance of the original bridge. Some people argue that this is a major repair project, and not technically a new bridge. However, Roebling added stiffening trusses to the design, which prevented the same disaster from happening again.
From 1971 to 1972, the bridge was strengthened using a design by Washington Roebling (John A. Roebling’s son). This project added auxiliary stay cables and widened the cables to enable the walkways to be placed inside the stringers.
Additional modifications were made in 1886, 1922, 1930 and 1948, to reduce the dead load of the bridge and add wind resistance. In 1956, the timber deck was replaced with an open steel grate deck, the roadway was widened from 16.25 ft to 20 feet, and the sidewalks were narrowed accordingly. The bridge was closed again from 1982-1983 for repairs to the cables, anchorage, and trusses.
The bridge was originally constructed for horse and buggy, so there was a weight limit of 4,000 pounds (2 tons). However, errant buses and trucks continued to use the bridge, requiring frequent inspections and repairs. Because of this, the bridge was closed to all vehicular traffic on September 24, 2019. A rehabilitation project was awarded in 2021, and is well under way. This project will repair the superstructure and substructure, replace damaged cables, and paint the span. The hope is to eventually reopen the bridge to motorists, but it is still unclear if the damage in the anchor vaults is reparable enough to allow this. However, the bridge will be preserved either way, and will remain open to pedestrians.
References
Bridges and Tunnels: http://bridgestunnels.com/location/wheeling-suspension-bridge/
Historic Bridges: https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=wvirginia/wheeling/
ASCE: https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/wheeling-suspension-bridge
Ohio County Public Library: https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/wheeling-history/3304