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Wheeling Suspension Bridge
General Information
Project Type
Structure: |
original configuration: Suspension bridge current configuration: Suspension bridge with cable-stays |
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Function / usage: |
Road bridge |
Material: |
Iron bridge |
Location
Location: |
Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, USA |
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Crosses: |
|
Coordinates: | 40° 4' 13.00" N 80° 43' 36.00" W |
Technical Information
Materials
deck |
wrought iron
|
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towers |
masonry
|
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. |
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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. |
Participants
Initial construction (1847-1849)
Design
- Charles Ellet Jr. (designer)
Reconfiguration (1874)
Design
- Wilhelm Hildenbrand (designer)
Reconstruction (1859)
Engineering
- William McComas (engineer)
- William McComas (construction supervisor)
Relevant Web Sites
Relevant Publications
- Bridges. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (USA), pp. 79. (1993):
- Bridging the World. Bridge Ink, Wilsonville (USA). (2003):
- Crossing Lines: The Wheeling Suspension Bridge. In: Civil Engineering Magazine, v. 80, n. 2 (February 2010), pp. 40-44. (2010):
- Les grands ponts du monde: Hors d'Europe. Brissaud, Poitiers (France), pp. 110. (1990):
- Great American Bridges and Dams. A National Trust Guide. John Wiley & Sons, New York (USA), pp. 159. (1984):
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20000478 - Date created
13/11/1999 - Last Update
05/02/2016