Photos
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Oblique View From Wheeling Island This antebellum bridge was, at one time, the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and today, may be the oldest suspension bridge, still in use, in the Western Hemisphere. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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The east portal in downtown Wheeling Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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The east pier Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Cable Anchor in Downtown Wheeling Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Cable Anchor in Downtown Wheeling Note the "National Road" label. At one time, this bridge carried US 40, The National Road, in and out of Wheeling. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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West Virginia Historical Marker Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Federal Historical Markers Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Interpretive Plaque Thew history of the bridge is displayed here. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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The north railing and deck Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Fixtures of unknown purpose These fixtures, on both sides of the pier, indicate that the bridge might have been gated at one time. Does anyone know? Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Deck and Pier Looking east toward downtown Wheeling. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Cabling details Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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The west approach on Wheeling Island Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Architects Plaque, mounted on the west pier Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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West cable anchor Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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West cable anchor & cable detail Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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The undercarriage Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Underneath, looking west Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Wheeling Circa 1900 Note the Wheeling Bridge. The truss to the left of it was a railroad bridge, long gone. Photo taken by J.R. Manning |
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Wheelng Circa 2007 I wanted to duplicate the old photo, but the trees have all grown up in over 100 years and made it pretty tough - this was the closest I could come. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007 |
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Oblique View of Bridge Photo taken from Wheeling Island. Photo taken by Rick Mattioni in July 2000 |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
Facts
- Overview
- Suspension bridge over Ohio River on WV 251 in Wheeling
- Location
- Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1849; collapsed and reconstructed in 1854; rehabilitated numerous times including 1999
- Builders
- - Charles Ellet (1849 original construction)
- John Roebling (1854 reconstruction)
- Design
- Wire suspension
- Dimensions
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Length of largest span: 949.2 ft.
Total length: 1,307.2 ft.
Deck width: 20.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 22.7 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.07019, -80.72714 (decimal degrees)
40°04'13" N, 80°43'38" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 17/523267/4435583 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Wheeling
- Inventory numbers
- NRHP 70000662 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 35334 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 10/2007)
- Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 13.6 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2005)
- 5,550
Update Log
- July 4, 2009: Posted HAER photos
- March 19, 2009: Updated by Curtis Lee
- October 8, 2008: New photo from Rick Mattioni
- February 24, 2008: New photos from J.R. Manning
- January 29, 2008: New photos from J.R. Manning
Sources
- J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
- Rick Mattioni - rickmattioni [at] aol [dot] com
- Curtis Lee - clee47ford [at] yahoo [dot] com
- HAER WV-2 - Wheeling Suspension Bridge, Spanning East channel of Ohio River at U.S. Route , Wheeling, Ohio County, WV
Comments
David, I was standing when I took that photo. I'm 5'10" tall and was looking up. I haven't been able to find any evidence that the bridge was gated at one time, but I also can't prove that it wasn't.
As to the unknown fixture on the pier.... It's hard to see from the angle of the picture how high it is above the deck.... if it's not too high, I ahve a strong suspicion that it is a hitching post. Let's remember when the bridge was built, there would have been only horses....this is my best guess.