Wheeling Suspension Bridge
General Information
Project Type
| Structure: |
original configuration: Suspension bridge current configuration: Suspension bridge with cable-stays |
|---|---|
| Function / usage: |
Road bridge
|
| Material: |
Iron bridge
|
Location
| Location: |
Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, USA |
|---|---|
| Crosses: |
|
| Coordinates: | 40° 4' 13.00" N 80° 43' 36.00" W |
Technical Information
Dimensions
| main span | 308 m | |
| number of cables | 2 x 6 | |
| deck | deck depth | 7.3 m |
Materials
| deck |
wrought iron
|
|---|---|
| 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. |
|---|---|
| 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
- (2003): Bridging the World. Bridge Ink, Wilsonville (USA).
- (1999): Validated Analysis of Wheeling Suspension Bridge. In: Journal of Bridge Engineering (ASCE), v. 4, n. 1 (February 1999), pp. 1-7.
- (1990): Les grands ponts du monde: Hors d'Europe. Brissaud, Poitiers (France), pp. 110.
- (1848): Report on a rail-way suspension bridge across the Connecticut, at Middletown. J.C. Clark, printer, Philadelphia (USA), pp. 62.
- Wheels of change. In: Bridge Design & Engineering, v. 5, n. 14 (1st Quarter 1999), pp. 36-37.
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20000478 - Date created
13/11/1999 - Last Update
05/02/2016