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Structures / Wheeling Suspension Bridge
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About this data sheet:
Structure-ID: s0000478
Created on: 13/11/99
Modified on: 17/08/05


Wheeling Suspension Bridge

Built: 1847 - 1849
Status: in use
Location: Between Channel Island and Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, USA
Crosses: Ohio River
Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Click on the image to enlarge it.
There is a total of 27 images.
Structural Type:
original configuration: Suspension bridge
gravity-anchored
current configuration: Suspension bridge with cable-stays
Function / usage:
Road bridge

Persons involved with this structure
Legend: Phase of works
RoleNamePart of structure 
Reconstruction (1854)
Construction supervisor William McComas
Reconstruction (1859)
Engineer William McComas
Reconfiguration (1874)
Designer Wilhelm Hildenbrand
Initial construction (1847-1849)
Designer Charles Ellet Jr.

Technical information
DescriptionValue
Construction materials used
deck  wrought iron
towers  masonry
Dimensions
  main span 308 m
  number of cables 2 x 6
deck   deck depth 7.3 m

Chronology
17 May 1854
In a strong wind that blows during most of the day, the bridge deck begins to oscillate, which the local inhabitants seem to like to experience. However in the afternoon the deck is suddenly completely overturned, ripping most of the suspension cables out of their anchorages.
26 July 1854
After salvaging the wreckage Charles Elliot and Captain McComas inaugurate a reconstructed 14-foot-wide temporary bridge despite an injuction by the Supreme Court barring any effort to that effect.
1865
Joseph Lawson is appointed superintendent of the bridge. He holds this position until his death in December of 1923.
1872
Wilhelm Hildenbrand redesigns the bridge adding cable-stays to strengthen the structure and replacing the deck.

Relevant Web Sites
The following external links open in a new window. Structurae is not responsible for their content nor endorses it.
External LinkA Sightseer's Guide to Engineering: Wheeling Suspension Bridge English
External LinkA Span for All Seasons: Wheeling Suspension Bridge English
External LinkDigital Bridges: Report on a rail-way suspension bridge across the Connecticut, at Middletown English
External LinkHAER: Wheeling Suspension Bridge, Spanning East channel of Ohio River at U.S. Route , Wheeling, Ohio County, WV English
External LinkiCivilEngineer: Wheeling Suspension Bridge English

Relevant Literature
* Wheels of change, in "Bridge Design & Engineering", 1st Quarter 1999, n. 14 v. 5 .
* Brown, David J.   Bridges, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (USA) , ISBN 002517455X, 1993; pp. 79.
* Cortright, Robert S.   Bridging the World, Bridge Ink, Wilsonville (USA) , ISBN 0964196336, 2003.
* Ellet, Charles   Report on a rail-way suspension bridge across the Connecticut, at Middletown, J.C. Clark, printer, Philadelphia (USA) , 1848.
* Jackson, Donald C.   Great American Bridges and Dams, John Wiley & Sons, New York (USA) , ISBN 0471143855, 1984; pp. 159.
* Prade, Marcel   Les grands ponts du monde: Hors d'Europe, Brissaud, Poitiers (France) , ISBN 2902170688, 1990; pp. 110.
* Spyrakos, Constantine C.   Validated Analysis of Wheeling Suspension Bridge, in "Journal of Bridge Engineering (ASCE)", February 1999, n. 1 v. 4 .

 
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