1989 - Suspension Bridge, Wheeling, WV

In 1818, traffic crossing the Ohio River in Wheeling between Zane’s Island and the Ohio shore had to go by ferry. By 1837 a wooden bridge had been installed.

Ten years later the city of Wheeling asked American engineers Charles Ellet, Jr., and John A. Roebling to submit plans and cost estimates for a new bridge to span the Ohio River. This was the evolution of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

Construction began in 1849. The bridge would be 91 ½ feet above low water, held up by 12 iron wire cables suspended from two towers. Spanning 1,010 ft., the Wheeling Suspension Bridge would be able to resist 297 tons. The total cost of the bridge was $145,000.

By November of 1849, people celebrated the formal opening of the first bridge to span the Ohio River.

Travelers enjoyed the convenience of the bridge until May 1854 when a severe wind tore the bridge from its cables, knocking it into the river.

Ellet, Jr., was immediately summoned to rebuild the structure. This time the engineering was done by William K. McComas. The new bridge, which would carry two-way traffic, was erected by 1860.

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was dedicated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1969 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1970 the bridge became a part of the National Registry.

Referred to by Henry Clay as “Wheeling’s Rainbow,” the Wheeling Suspension Bridge today is considered an endangered landmark.