BRIDGESPOTTING

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, crossing the Ohio River from West Virginia into Ohio, is the largest and most spectacular bridge on the historic National Road.

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The National Road was the first major highway funded by the federal government. Officially, the National Pike began as a roadway connecting Baltimore to Cumberland, in Maryland. In 1805, the federal government took control over the pike, and extended it from Cumberland to Vandalia, Illinois, as the National Road, with the objective of promoting settlement of “the west” which, at that time, was defined as Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Between Baltimore and Vandalia, the road crossed mostly small creeks and minor rivers, which were easily bridged with small-scale stone arch bridges. However, the one major barrier on the route was the Ohio River, which had to be crossed by ferry until the Wheeling Bridge was constructed in 1849.

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Prior to 1849, the records for longest suspension bridge in the world had all been established in Britain, and the record-holder at the time was the Menai Bridge in Wales. With the Wheeling Suspension Bridge at about 1,000 feet long, the record was brought to the United States, where it remained until the Humber Bridge was constructed in England in 1981. Also prior to 1849, suspension systems in bridges were made of either rope, chain, or eyebar chains (linked iron bars). The Wheeling Bridge was the first use of wire-cable for suspending the deck of a bridge.

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The bridge was constructed by Charles Ellet, who won the design competition over the more famous John Roebling. However, it does bear a striking resemblance to the Roebling Bridge in Cincinnati and Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge. In each case, the suspension towers are massive stone arches, and the suspension cables are a combination of verticals and diagonals. The bridge was originally built with only vertical suspension cables, but the bridge deck had stability issues, including having been destroyed by a windstorm in 1854. According to the historical plaque at the eastern end of the bridge, the deck was rebuilt in 1854, and Washington Roebling provided the diagonal supporting cables for additional support in 1872.

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There is a detailed description of a tour of all of the National Road bridges, including Wheeling, in Chapter 9 of my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times.