Wheeling Suspension Bridge, closed after cable breaks

[Mr_Northside]

Wheeling Suspension Bridge, oldest of its kind in use, closed after cable breaks

[SteveG1988]

It looks like it was a stabilizing cable, for heavy winds. Similar to what is on the Throgs neck Bridge to help keep the deck in one spot, or on the deer isle bridge. Non structural, but worrying that it snapped.

[cpzilliacus]

It looks like it was a stabilizing cable, for heavy winds. Similar to what is on the Throgs neck Bridge to help keep the deck in one spot, or on the deer isle bridge. Non structural, but worrying that it snapped.

That bridge is a historical treasure, and I hope that WVDOH will take its time in figuring out what went wrong (perhaps including checking other similar cables for problems) before they allow traffic to cross it again.

[SteveG1988]

The bridge already has measures to make it safer for modern traffic (4000 lb limit on cars, traffic lights to allow only a few cars across at a time) so i think they will take their time to repair it, perhaps even put newer cables on it.

[theline]

Google Street View has some great pictures of the bridge. I had never seen it before, but it's gorgeous. I hope they can save it.

[NE2]

It's bullshit that they're not allowing bikes and peds to cross.

[thenetwork]

Just looking at Wheeling Island on Google maps...When did they finally tear down the old bridges just north of US-40/US-250?

[SteveG1988]

It's bullshit that they're not allowing bikes and peds to cross.

What if another cable snaps under load, it can cut through a body like it was butter

[NE2]

I-70 actually has a walkway. Never mind.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40.071356,-80.731466&spn=0.007488,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.071335,-80.7316&panoid=bpdqwOSxvSu5IX9kQijd6A&cbp=12,92.95,,0,3.86

[US 41]

Have any of you ever went through Wheeling at night. The suspension bridge is really neat and lit up.

[mc78andrew]

Does I-70 drop to one lane in each direction before you enter that tunnel? 

[Duke87]

Yep. Roadway is wide enough for a second lane, but the way it's striped it narrows down to 1 because there is no room for accel/deaccel lanes for the ramps to WV 2. So, rather than have the offramps be sudden (which would be crazy westbound since the exit is right after the mouth of the tunnel) and have the onramps end at stop signs, the ramps are instead given a dropped/added lane. This is why I-470 exists - so through traffic can bypass that choke point.

[cpzilliacus]

Yep. Roadway is wide enough for a second lane, but the way it's striped it narrows down to 1 because there is no room for accel/deaccel lanes for the ramps to WV 2. So, rather than have the offramps be sudden (which would be crazy westbound since the exit is right after the mouth of the tunnel) and have the onramps end at stop signs, the ramps are instead given a dropped/added lane. This is why I-470 exists - so through traffic can bypass that choke point.

It makes lots of sense that things are striped like that. 

But I have always wondered why the tunnels were designed that way.

[ARMOURERERIC]

Since we are making local road inquiries;  I noted stub ramps at the US 250, WV 2 South exit, was there once an intent to extend that freeway northerly which could have led to an elimination of the WB WV 2 exit from I-70?

[Sykotyk]

I've been there many times, and never noticed that stub on the I-70WB ramp. That's a pretty formidable hill the tunnel goes through, and the incline would be tough to make a freeway further north (switch to terrain view, and you'll see the hill US40 climbs up and over).

My guess is that maybe it was going to be local exit to that group of streets down there, the one that US250 NB has a 'mainline exit' for when it hits I-70.