C&O's Sciotoville, Ohio Ohio River Bridge

Here is a bridge that is closer to where I grew up, yet one that I have neglected to cover or even photograph.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Bridge over the Ohio River between Limeville, Kentucky and Sciotoville, Ohio was constructed from 1914 to 1917 by the McClintick-Marshall Construction Company. The structurally massive railroad bridge was designed by two famous American Civil Engineers, Gustav Lindenthal, D.Sc., the Consulting Engineer and David Barnard Steinman, D.Sc., the designer and stress analyst.

The new Sciotoville Bridge completed, with the creeper traveler and temporary bents not yet removed. From "Problems and General Methods of Erecting the Sciotoville Bridge." Engineering News-Record 80.2 (Jan. 10, 1918): 62-68.

The location of the bridge was considered to be one of the worst along the Ohio River for a crossing. The river on the Ohio span, although on the outside of the bend, was shallow with a rocky bottom. The low water channel was on the Kentucky span, while at flood stage, the principal current would switch to the Ohio side.(3) A clear width of 370 feet had to be kept open over the Kentucky span to allow for the passage of coal barges, which dicated that a cantilever erection for the Kentucky span and falsework erection for the Ohio span. The Kentucky cantilever involved the construction of two temporary steel bents under the landward portion of the Kentucky span.

Two booms of the creeper traveler sped up by the construction. From "Erection Experiences at the Sciotoville Bridge." Engineering News-Record 81.26 (Dec. 16, 1918): 1182-1185.

Further complicating matters was the issue of ice. It was decided that the falsework on the Ohio span had to be anchored with rock filled cribs, placed far apat so that ice could drift and pass between.

The structure opened on July 31, 1917 and featured twin tracks with two main spans, each 775-feet in length, deck truss approach spans that measured 152.5 feet each, and plate girder viaducts that measured 822 feet for the north approach and 1,062 feet for the north approach. It remained the longest continuous truss bridge in the world until 1935 and is still the prototype for continuous trusses, and the completion of the crossing marked a major advancement in the art of bridge engineering and was a major achievement in continuous truss analysis.

Further Reading:

a. Read more about the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Sciotoville Ohio River Bridge's fascinating history, and view more than 30 photographs: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio-river/chesapeake-ohio-railroad-sciotoville-ohio-river-bridge/