Bridges & Tunnels updates

[seicer]

I am finally getting around to doing sizeable updates to Bridges & Tunnels after a year hiatus. Since then, I have moved the site to Wordpress and have started adding photographs from about five years worth of images to the site.

Exploring the Bellaire Interstate Toll Bridge
Deteriorating above the Ohio River since it closed in 1991, the Bellaire Interstate Toll Bridge connected Bellaire, Ohio to Benwood, West Virginia. The two-lane cantilever span was completed in 18 months and opened in 1926 to much fanfare, utilizing 7 million tons of steel and realizing a link between the two busy, industrial communities.

The span closed in 1991 and has been deteriorating ever since. On one warm summer night, I decided to check out the Bellaire Interstate Toll Bridge. Remaining on the crossing were vintage hand-painted signage, and the toll booths that dangle precariously on the bridge.

1


2 The toll booths that dangle precariously on the bridge.


3 The former B&O Railroad crossing lights up at night as a train rolls across the Ohio River.


4 The closed National Tube pipe mill is in the distance.


Read the rest of the blog entry, Exploring the Bellaire Interstate Toll Bridge --
http://bridgestunnels.com/2010/11/17/exploring-the-bellaire-interstate-toll-bridge/

The full article, which contains 14 photographs --
http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/bellaire-interstate-toll-bridge/

Enjoy!

[agentsteel53]

wow, those are some super nice photos!

[seicer]

The Big Four Bridge

It's not too often a railroad bridge is neutered of its approach ramps, and then allowed to stand by itself for forty years abandoned, becoming an icon of the railroad decline in the United States. The derelict crossing, known as the Big Four Railroad Bridge, crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky to Jeffersonville, Indiana, and carried the former Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also referred to as the "Big Four Railroad."

The first crossing was completed in 1895, but not after several disasters. Thirty-seven perished during the seven years it took to complete the 2,500-foot span. Twelve died while working on a pier after a caisson failed, and four others perished when another pier caisson gave way. The most spectacular of disasters occurred in 1893, when a construction crane became dislodged in a strong wind, causing the falsework support of a truss to become damaged. Forty-one workers fell off the Big Four Bridge and into an icy Ohio River, where twenty-one died.

Because of the numerous incidents, the builder of the span, the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company, went into receivership and was sold to the Big Four Railroad.

The bridge later carried high-speed interurbans. In 1928, the decision was made to build a larger Big Four Bridge because trains were becoming larger and bigger, not only in size, but in weight. The new bridge was constructed on the piers of the old bridge, while leaving the existing crossing intact while it was upgraded. All rail traffic was diverted to the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge, while the interurbans were replaced by buses during the duration of the work.

In 1968, the Big Four Railroad's parent company, the New York Central, merged into Penn Central, and the crossing fell into disrepair. Traffic was soon routed to the Ohio River Falls Bridge, and by 1969, the approaches had been removed and sold for scrap.

That would normally be the end of the usefulness of a bridge, and at some future point, it would be expected that the crossing would be demolished. A proposal in 1988 by Costa Rica called for the dismantling of the remaining main spans for reassembly, but the idea was never fulfilled.

In 2006, work began to convert the Big Four Bridge into a rail to trail as part of the Louisville Waterfront Park project. The bridge would be the centerpiece of the final 13-acre phase of the 85-acre park development. The original plans called for an earthen mound to form an elliptical spiral ramp, although this was scrapped in favor of a Corten steel ramp.

Work progressed quickly in Kentucky. In June 2009, Kentucky appropriated $12 million for a new bridge deck, guardrails and lighting for the Big Four Bridge, with work beginning in 2011. In mid-2010, the Kentucky approach to the bridge was completed.

The Indiana approach work has yet to start due to funding issues. Federal funding is being solicited, and in 2009, the city requested a federal grant through the Transportation Improvement Generating Economic Recovery program (TIGER), although it was rejected because the construction plans had not been finalized. TIGER II funding has been requested. Additionally, the Waterfront Development Corp. sought money from the Ohio River Bridges Project, which includes a parallel Interstate 65 bridge with a 17-foot pedestrian and bike path. By removing the path from the bridge, the money could be diverted to the Big Four Bridge and save the Ohio River Bridges Project $25 million.

The bridge project is scheduled for completion in 2012. Upon completion, it will be the longest pedestrian walkway in the United States.

1 The Big Four Railroad Bridge viewed from the Louisville Waterfront Park.


2 The Kentucky approach to the Big Four Railroad Bridge has been blocked pending completion of the main span decking project.


3 A view of the original Big Four Bridge, constructed in 1893. Photographed by Caufield and Shook, sourced from the University of Louisville Photographic Archives.


4 The Big Four Railroad Bridge, photographed by Jack Boucher, May 1975.


5 The neutered Louisville approach ramp, photographed by Jack Boucher, May 1975.


There are even more photographs, both current and historic, at the Big Four Bridge article. Enjoy!