U.S. Grant Bridge Replacement

When the original U. S. Grant Suspension Bridge over Ohio River was built in 1927 replacing a ferry system that existed at the time; it opened up a new era at this key crossing point for people and commerce between Portsmouth Ohio to adjoining South Shore, Kentucky. Those who saw it first hand some seventy years ago still remember the transition. After nearly eight decades of service, the original bridge was found to be functionally deficient, too costly to maintain and impractical to upgrade by the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the historic bridge was removed in 2002 to make way for in-line replacement by a cable-stayed bridge. The new bridge not only provides higher functional standards with its wider roadways with generous shoulders, but also improved river navigational conditions by virtue of its longer span. The new bridge, through this form following function design, has successfully met the Departments desire for an economical bridge providing higher level of serviceability with aesthetic appeal.