The Big Four Bridge

 

It’s not too often a railroad bridge is neutered of its approach ramps, and then allowed to stand by itself for forty years abandoned, becoming an icon of the railroad decline in the United States. The derelict crossing, known as the Big Four Railroad Bridge, crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky to Jeffersonville, Indiana, and carried the former Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also referred to as the “Big Four Railroad.”

 

The first crossing was completed in 1895, but not after several disasters. Thirty-seven perished during the seven years it took to complete the 2,500-foot span. Twelve died while working on a pier after a caisson failed, and four others perished when another pier caisson gave way. The most spectacular of disasters occurred in 1893, when a construction crane became dislodged in a strong wind, causing the falsework support of a truss to become damaged. Forty-one workers fell off the Big Four Bridge and into an icy Ohio River, where twenty-one died.

 

Because of the numerous incidents, the builder of the span, the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company, went into receivership and was sold to the Big Four Railroad.

 

The bridge later carried high-speed interurbans. In 1928, the decision was made to build a larger Big Four Bridge because trains were becoming larger and bigger, not only in size, but in weight. The new bridge was constructed on the piers of the old bridge, while leaving the existing crossing intact while it was upgraded. All rail traffic was diverted to the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge, while the interurbans were replaced by buses during the duration of the work.

 

In 1968, the Big Four Railroad’s parent company, the New York Central, merged into Penn Central, and the crossing fell into disrepair. Traffic was soon routed to the Ohio River Falls Bridge, and by 1969, the approaches had been removed and sold for scrap.

 

That would normally be the end of the usefulness of a bridge, and at some future point, it would be expected that the crossing would be demolished. A proposal in 1988 by Costa Rica called for the dismantling of the remaining main spans for reassembly, but the idea was never fulfilled.

 

In 2006, work began to convert the Big Four Bridge into a rail to trail as part of the Louisville Waterfront Park project. The bridge would be the centerpiece of the final 13-acre phase of the 85-acre park development. The original plans called for an earthen mound to form an elliptical spiral ramp, although this was scrapped in favor of a Corten steel ramp.

 

Work progressed quickly in Kentucky. In June 2009, Kentucky appropriated $12 million for a new bridge deck, guardrails and lighting for the Big Four Bridge, with work beginning in 2011. In mid-2010, the Kentucky approach to the bridge was completed.

 

The Indiana approach work has yet to start due to funding issues. Federal funding is being solicited, and in 2009, the city requested a federal grant through the Transportation Improvement Generating Economic Recovery program (TIGER), although it was rejected because the construction plans had not been finalized. TIGER II funding has been requested. Additionally, the Waterfront Development Corp. sought money from the Ohio River Bridges Project, which includes a parallel Interstate 65 bridge with a 17-foot pedestrian and bike path. By removing the path from the bridge, the money could be diverted to the Big Four Bridge and save the Ohio River Bridges Project $25 million.

 

The bridge project is scheduled for completion in 2012. Upon completion, it will be the longest pedestrian walkway in the United States.

 

1 The Big Four Railroad Bridge viewed from the Louisville Waterfront Park.

 

2 The Kentucky approach to the Big Four Railroad Bridge has been blocked pending completion of the main span decking project.

 

3 A view of the original Big Four Bridge, constructed in 1893. Photographed by Caufield and Shook, sourced from the University of Louisville Photographic Archives.

 

4 The Big Four Railroad Bridge, photographed by Jack Boucher, May 1975.

 

5 The neutered Louisville approach ramp, photographed by Jack Boucher, May 1975.

 

There are even more photographs, both current and historic, at the Big Four Bridge article. Enjoy!

Impressive.

 

Photo #2 reminds me of the pedestrian ramp spiral at Clingman's Dome.

The design of these bridges was incredible back then.  Engineers knew how to make art out of these structures.  I think it's sad alot of these are disappearing, but this one will survive and become an important piece of history. Today's bulky box-beam and concrete segmented bridges just don't compare to the intricacies you find in steel truss bridges

Well, these bridges were grossly overbuilt.

 

 

CSX Sciotoville/Limeville bridge across the Ohio River. Grossly overbuilt, but it doesn't need to be maintained nearly as much. It's a work of art!

That Sciotoville bridge is a hoss.

Gustav Lindenthal was consulting engineer on the Sciotoville Bridge. Some of his other well-known bridges include the Queensboro Bridge, the elegant 1882 two-span lenticular-truss Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, and New York's massive Hell Gate railroad bridge.

^ interesting. those are three elegant bridges, funny he came up with such an odd one here. better to be overbuilt than underbuilt tho.

I can only speculate. Queensboro and Hell Gate are in important urban settings, and maybe that demanded more attention to the aesthetics, although Hell Gate, when you really look at it, is stunningly massive. Compared with those two, the Sciotoville bridge is in the middle of nowhere and the primary imperative was that it be strong enough to carry heavy freight on two tracks with low year-to-year maintenance costs.

 

Pittsburgh's Smithfield Street bridge was designed in an era when automobiles and heavy motor trucks weren't a consideration; and maybe it has survived into the automobile because it was engineered heavily enough to carry streetcars. That continued on the eastern side until the PAT light rail/subway opened in 1985, when it was converted to auto traffic.

 

I just noticed that the Sciotoville bridge appears to have stairways and catwalks halfway up in the trusswork. That might make for some interesting photos and a trip to the local jail after a passing train crew radios the dispatcher who notifies the police.

hmmmmmmmm