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The Bridgeport Bridge also known as the Wheeling and Belmont bridge (per the dedication plaque affixed to the structure) was a bridge which once carried U.S. Route 40 (US 40) over the back channel of the Ohio River between Wheeling Island, West Virginia, and Bridgeport, Ohio. Constructed in 1893, the Bridgeport Bridge was one type of crossing that could be 'ordered' from catalogs towards the end of the nineteenth century. The steel-framed bridge, with a wooden deck, was built to replace a prior wooden covered bridge that was built on the same site circa 1836. In fact, the 1893 bridge utilized the same piers that were built for the earlier bridge. The primary reason for construction of the new bridge was to accommodate the new electric street cars that were being deployed in Wheeling. With the construction of the Steel Bridge across the main channel of the Ohio River from Wheeling Island to the City of Wheeling circa 1889 electric steetcar service was expanded into Ohio, eventually stretching all the way west to the small mining town of Barton, which is approximately west of Wheeling. The wooden bridge deck was replaced in 1950 with steel grating, and the streetcar tracks were removed, as interurban rail service was discontinued in 1948. By 1987, the floor beams had become structurally unsound for automobile traffic due to extensive corrosion. A self-supporting, load-bearing deck structure, known as a Bailey Truss, was installed inside the trusses of the Bridgeport Bridge. This was only a temporary measure, as the bridge was replaced in 1998 with the adjacent Military Order of the Purple Heart Bridge. Sometime in 2009 much of the temporary Bailey Truss was removed. It is unclear if the steel grate floor had been removed prior to the installation of the Bailey Truss, but after the removal of its floor structure the Bridgeport Bridge was without a floor. Early in the summer of 2011, WTOV-TV in Steubenville reported that the bridge was to be demolished, tentatively scheduled to start at the end of July 2011.〔http://www.wtov9.com/news/27969493/detail.html〕 They reported that the West Virginia Division of Highways received a request from the Coast Guard to bring the bridge down as it is a safety hazard and pieces have fallen into the river. It also verified that many of the unique features of the bridge, such as the railings, signage, the finials on top, and plaques will be removed prior to demolition. The bridge demolition is expected to take 60 days and cost $750,000.00, which is considerably less than the $1.2 million that was estimated to be the cost of demolition in 2000. Explosive demolition of the bridge occurred on Monday, September 12, 2011. Explosive charges were used to drop the bridge into the river, after which cranes began retrieving the steel parts for scrapping. Complete removal of bridge and piers is scheduled to be completed by October 31, 2011. ==See also== *List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in West Virginia *List of crossings of the Ohio River 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bridgeport Bridge (Ohio River)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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