Worlds Oldest Suspension Bridge

This was My World this morning.

It's Here!!

Ok, on to the prepared My World post.

Today we are in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia in the city of Wheeling. This city has the distinction of being home to the oldest suspension bridge still in operation in the world. Its original span being completed on October 20, 1849 and it was the first bridge to span the Ohio River. It was originally designed and built by Charles Ellet. You really must click this picture to see the detail. I really needed to be on a boat in the middle of the river to view its entire length.

This shows you one of the towers and the cables used for support. The green arch you see is a newer bridge that now takes most of the traffic. The bridge has the general appearance of the original bridge constructed in 1849. The massive towers and anchorage housings are all the original stone masonry. The main cables of the bridge are either original or additions which date from the 1860 reconstruction of the bridge after its collapse in a wind storm in 1854.

This is driving up to the first tower. Notice the stoplight. The light is timed in order to regulate the number to cars on the span at any one time. There is a sign asking you to keep 50 foot intervals between cars.

This is the middle section of the span. The sidewalk is close to the traffic; but you can walk across if you like.

Finally, the tower at the other end.

In 1975 the Wheeling Suspension Bridge received the highest honor that can be bestowed on a non-federal site or structure when it became the first bridge to be designated a Nation Historic Landmark. In 1980 the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places of the United States. There is a sign near the bridge that says this is the most significant remaining pre-Civil War bridge in the United States.

Want to see more fascinating places? Click the badge at the top of my post and sit back and enjoy a virtual tour around the world.