 Location: Fayetteville, West Virginia, USA
Completion Date: 1978
Cost: $37 million
Length: 3,030 feet
Type: Steel Arch
Longest Single Span: 1,700 feet
Engineer(s): Michael Baker, WVDOH
Before the New River Gorge Bridge was built, there was no efficient way to cross the great canyon carved by the New River in southern West Virginia. Drivers were forced to make a 40 minute detour around the gorge or slowly wind down narrow mountain roads to cross the immense rift.
Though there is no debate about the scenic beauty of the New River Gorge, traveling on a daily basis was a major obstacle to tourism and the development of the region. In 1977, this problem was solved with the construction of the New River Gorge Bridge.
The New River Gorge offered many advantages for constructing a steel arch bridge. The solid rock on both sides of the gorge provided the necessary outward thrust to support the pressure exerted by the arch, making tall towers and deep piers unnecessary. In June 1974, cables were strung between temporary towers located on each side of the gorge. The steel sections of the arch bridge were pieced together over the gorge by trolleys running on these cables. After three years of construction and $37 million, the new bridge reduced a 40-minute drive around one of America's oldest rivers to less than one minute. What a phenominal breakthrough for the region!
Today, the New River Gorge Bridge is the world's longest spanning, single-arch steel bridge, at a whopping 3,030 feet. Soaring 876 feet above the wild whitewaters of West Virginia's New River, it is also the second tallest bridge in the United States.
Did You Know
· The Bridge weighs 88 million pounds
· Every Year base jumpers take a flying leap over the side plummeting nearly 900' below! Read More...
Update, February 8, 2003: New River Gorge Bridge will have to relinquish its claim as the longest steel-arch bridge in the world. The Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, at 550 meters, bests the New River Gorge Bridge by 32 meters (105 feet) -- though the design is quite different.
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