Exploring Virginia's Bridges and Tunnels

Posted October 25, 201212 yr

During the late summer, I wandered through the Virginia countryside, exploring small towns, natural attractions and of course - infrastructure. While Virginia is not known for its covered bridges or its charming trusses that is found more typically in the northeast and midwest, it does boast some impressive crossings that are both preserved or endangered.

I began my entry into Virginia from Bluefield, West Virginia via old US 52 over East River Mountain. I stopped briefly to photograph the southern portal of the East River Mountain Tunnel. The impressive facility carries Interstate 77 and US 52 through East River Mountain between Bluefield, West Virginia and Rocky Gap, Virginia. Prior to the completion of the tunnel, through traffic had to navigate the steep and winding US 52 over East River Mountain, now designated West Virginia and Virginia routes 598.

To the north, the West Virginia Turnpike had been opened to traffic from Princeton, northeast of Bluefield, to Beckley on September 2, 1954, with the remaining mileage to Charleston opening in November. The two-lane turnpike, nicknamed the "88 Miles of Miracle," was mostly two-lane with provisions for eventual widening. It was not designated Interstate 77 until the modernization of the Turnpike was finished in 1987 that involved widening the turnpike to four-lanes and bypassing a tunnel and bridge with a cut and fill. The total cost was an astronomical $683 million.

But even with the Turnpike being a lonely two-lanes, traffic was significant that dumped traffic onto a two-lane US 52 from the Turnpike's terminus at Princeton to Bluefield and over East River Mountain into Virginia. The first segment of Interstate 77 south of Princeton and the Turnpike was completed in 1969 from US 460 to West Virginia Route 112.

Groundbreaking on the tunnel was held on August 12, 1969 with West Virginia Governor Arch Moore and Virginia Governor Mills Godwin pushing a plunger that triggered an explosion of red, white and blue smoke. Excavation required the use of TNT, and excavation proved difficult as caves created sinkholes that caused one section of the tunnel two feet. As a result, concrete had to be hauled in from Kingsport, Tennessee to stabilize the situation - a process that took two months to complete. In addition, more than 30,000 feet of lumber was used in the support of the tunnel.

The project also involved the construction of Interstate 77 from West Virginia Route 112 south to the tunnel, a distance of 5.09 miles. To the south in Virginia, a 15.6-mile segment of Interstate 77 was completed from US 52 at North Gap to Bland in sections from late-1974 to mid-1975.

The East River Mountain Tunnel was opened to traffic on December 20, 1974 in a ceremony that was capped when Governor Moore landed two helicopters outside of the tunnel while Lieutenant Governor John Dalton looked on. The cost for the 5,412-foot twin tube tunnel cost $40 million and was the most expensive highway project undertaken by the West Virginia Division of Highways up to that time. The costs were shared between the two states: 51% of the tunnel resided in West Virginia and 49% in Virginia.

Proceeding south, I came across the Wolf Creek Bridge in Rocky Gap that was constructed in 1912 for the New River, Holston and Western Railroad (NH&W). The pin-connected steel Pratt through truss was fabricated by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and featured eight panels with its unique patented Phoenix columns that consist of several pieces forming a cylindrical shaft with riveted ribs.

The NH&W once extended for 43 miles from Narrows on the New River in Giles County to the village of Suiter in Bland County, following Wolf Creek or its tributaries for its entire length. Construction on the railroad began in 1903 from Narrows but reached a distance of just three miles. In 1912, the line was extended to Rocky Gap when W.M. Ritter purchased Buck Horn Timber, a local lumber outfit, and by 1914 the railroad had reached Suiter. The line was partially financed by W.E. Mingea, Jr. of Abingdon, a major county landowner who was involved in the lumber and bark industry. The railroad featured twelve stations at Talmash, Penvir, Bridge No. 2, First Ford, Chappel, Nidey, Round Bottom, Rocky Gap, Novis (South Gap), Hicksville, Bastian and Suiter.

In 1919, the NH&W was sold to the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W). While the N&W maintained service on the line for five days a week, local timber resources began to be exhausted by the 1930s and the run was cut back to three days a week. In 1946, the railroad was dismantled and the bridge and roadway was converted for Virginia Route 61. In 1986, the Wolf Creek Bridge was closed to all but pedestrians when Virginia Route 61 was realigned several hundred feet upstream in 1986.

I headed eastward through the Wilderness Creek valley and onward towards Big Walker Creek to photograph more of the rural countryside. I came across the Big Walker Creek Bridge over Big Walker Creek while exploring a remote Amish settlement on Virginia Route 760 in Giles County. The eight-panel, pin-connected Pratt through truss is of an early 1900s vintage. The bridge is scheduled to be replaced at a point after 2014.

Further east is the River Road Bridge that carried Virginia Route 623 over the New River in Pembroke. The bridge is notable for containing the largest number of truss types for one bridge, and features Virginia’s longest Pennsylvania Petit through truss. It is also home to the last metal column pier and the last Pratt deck truss in the commonwealth.

The earliest crossing of the New River was a ferry that operated from the base of Castle Rock and ran eastward to Pembroke, connecting the Pulaski-Giles Turnpike on the west bank to the Centerville and Peters Mountain Turnpike on the east bank. When the New River Railroad, Mining and Manufacturing Company held its first informational meeting in 1872 in the nearby town of Pearisburg, the company desired to construct a rail line from the New River Depot in Pulaski County upstream to Mercer County, West Virginia. The railroad was surveyed in 1875 following the west bank of the New River, and construction began in 1882. It was at that point that the railroad merged with the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W).

It was not until the 1890s that the name Pembroke Ferry was commonly used, and by then, traffic on the ferry had substantially increased due to the Pembroke depot located at Castle Rock. On the east bank, the Virginia Railroad – mainly a coal hauling line, was constructed in the early 20th century. In 1912, the Pembroke Limestone Corporation began quarrying operations on the west side of the river, which put further strains on the ferry. The discussion of a bridge over the New River had been discussed as far back as the late 1880s, but no serious considerations were made until the development of the limestone quarry and its associated population and commerce growth.

In 1910, the Virginia State Assembly passed legislation that allowed for the construction of two bridges across the New River. In October and November 1915, the Giles County Board of Supervisors selected the bridge site, and on March 20, 1916, the Assembly granted the county the authority for construction. The county was required to remove the at-grade crossing of the N&W. Construction on the bridge began in 1915 by the Virginia Bridge & Iron Company of Roanoke. Construction was set back temporarily when a pier on the east bank of the river collapsed to its side when the New River flooded. It had been poured but not properly secured. A new pier was cast in its place, and with no further interruptions, the new crossing was completed in the following year.

The unique bridge consisted of seven spans, six of which were metal trusses of four different types. The bridge also consisted of three early technological advancements that had been abandoned by the dawn of the 20th century: a non-riveted field construction, the use of pin connections and the use of hand-forged welds and wrought iron for structural members.

The River Road Bridge was bypassed with a new two-lane bridge in 1996.

Below: Photographs from the Historic American Engineering Record. Many others are available through the River Road Bridge page.

One of eight remaining covered bridges in Virginia, the Link's Farm Covered Bridge is located in Giles County near Virginia Route 700 and is a private covered span that is not open to the public. The bridge resides on the farm of James Link, Jr. It was his grandfather, Samuel Bradley who purchased the farm in 1907, and five years later Bradley constructed what was called the Bradley Bridge to provide easier access to acreage across Sinking Creek. The span was only 49 feet long and featured a modified Queenspost truss with a segmental arch. In 1949, Virginia Route 700 was constructed and bypassed the covered bridge.

The Link's Farm Covered Bridge was repaired in 1995.

Below: Photographs by Jet Lowe of the Historic American Engineering Record.

Nearby is the Old Clover Hollow Road Covered Bridge in Giles County on a former alignment of Virginia Route 601 that spans Sinking Creek. The covered bridge was constructed in 1916 and is a modified Queenspost truss with a segmental arch and is 70.10-feet long.

In 1963, the bridge was bypassed with a concrete span. The bridge was offered for sale to the adjacent property owners, but the Miller farm to the north did not want to assume responsibility for maintenance of the bridge. There was no record of deed that conveyed the bridge or adjoining land to either the county or state, but in 1995, Giles County announced that it owned the bridge. The Old Clover Hollow Road Covered Bridge was recently renovated, with labor provided by volunteers from local citizens and students at Virginia Tech.

The Cannery Road Bridge carries Virginia Route 773 over the Roanoke River in Lafayette, Virginia. The camelback through truss was constructed in 1917 and relocated to the present site in 1958.

While proceeding northbound on Interstate 81, I came across the Roaring Run Bridge at Ironto rest area. The bridge - spanning a drainage ditch, is among the oldest bridge of its type in the United States and the oldest medal bridge in Virginia.

The riveted bowstring pony truss was originally constructed in 1877-1878 over Stoney Fork north of Moneto in Bedford County by the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. In the 1930s, the one-lane span was relocated to span Roaring Run along Virginia Route 657 in Bedford County. In 1972, the Roaring Run Bridge was replaced by a concrete culvert and moved to the rest area in 1976.

Below: Photographs from the Historic American Engineering Record prior to the span's closure in 1972.

On the way out of Virginia, I drove through the rural Virginia countryside to photograph several small communities while traveling along the broad rivers and diminutive creeks. The Clementon Road Bridge carries Virginia Route 681 over the Appromattox River between Powhatan and Amelia counties. The riveted Warren pony truss was constructed in 1932.

The Rivanna River Bridge carries Virginia Route 6 over the Rivanna River west of Columbia in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The pony truss was constructed in 1930.

As of 2012, the ailing bridge had a sufficiency rating of 32.1 out of 100 and was both functionally and structurally deficient. The first public hearing on a new bridge was held on April 4, 2012. Right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation for the new bridge began in the fall, with construction scheduled to begin in 2013 with an expected completion date of 2016. The total cost of the new bridge is estimated to be $11.92 million: $1.5 million for engineering, $293,006 for right-of-way and $10,125,777 for construction.

The Stoney Point Road Bridge is located along Virginia Route 620 between Amelia and Cumberland counties. The six-panel, pin-connected Pratt through truss was constructed in 1912.

Brook Hill Road Bridge is located between Cumberland and Amelia counties along Virginia Route 621. The Pratt through truss over the Appomattox River was constructed in 1900.

More unique is the Cartersville Bridge over the James River that carried Virginia Route 45 between Cartersville and Pemberton. What remains is a rare surviving example of composite bridge construction. It was one of the last bridges in the United States to be comprised of wood, especially as a major structural element.

The first span across the river was constructed by the Cartersville Bridge Company which was chartered in 1819. A contract between David Scott of Maryland and the Cartersville Bridge Company was signed on July 19, 1820 with work to begin on a wooden covered bridge by September 1. The initial completion date was set for December 25, 1821. Amendments to the contract were made on May 31 and on December 12 for additional work, and the final cost was estimated at more than $24,000.

The covered span consisted of five stone piers and two stone abutments built of rough cut ashlar and rubble, and a series of Burr arch trusses but was poorly constructed. A diary entry from William Bolling on September 8, 1827 noted that the arches were “giving way” and that the bridge would soon “fall in.” In 1841, famous engineer Claudius Crozet reported his concerns with the structural integrity of the bridge and the first Cartersville Bridge was demolished a year later.

A contract was signed to Joseph N. Carrington on March 12, 1842 for a new bridge. The second span was either destroyed or collapsed prior to 1883 and was not rebuilt due to the high cost of bridging the James River. During those years, a ferry was operated by the James River and Kanawha Canal Company whose ownership later transferred to the Richmond & Allegany Railroad Company (R&A). The ferry also operated during the rebuilding of the bridge in 1841.

In 1884, the R&A contracted with Goochland and Cumberland counties to rebuild the bridge with a combination of wood and iron on the original stone piers and abutments. The superstructure was composed of heavy timber members with cast-iron connections that formed a six-span Pratt through truss. The original floor beams consisted of wrought iron that was replaced with rolled steel in 1955. The roadway deck was constructed of timber. The R&A also sought the construction of two other bridges across the James River so that citizens could walk or drive across the river to the railroad.

All but two spans of the superstructure were destroyed in a flood caused by Hurricane Agnes on June 22, 1972. A replacement bridge 947-feet in length adjacent to the original Cartersville Bridge was completed on June 1, 1974.

Below: An image of the Cartersville Bridge in the early 1970s. Photograph by the Historic American Engineering Record.

The Knightly Bridge is a single-span, pin-connected Camelback through truss that carries Virginia Route 778 over the Middle River in Augusta County. The first route through the valley was completed by 1865 that connected New Hope, Piedmont and Mount Sidney. An early 19th century dam, constructed to provide waterpower for mills on the south side of the river, may have been the first fixed crossing across the Middle River in the area.

On October 25, 1909, the Knightly Milling Company petitioned the Augusta County Board of Supervisors to have a bridge constructed nar its mills. The petition was referred to the Road Board who made no decision at a meeting on February 28, 1910. The matter was delayed until September 26, when the Board of Supervisors referred Knightly back to the Road Board for a further report and cost estimate. But the bridge was determined either to be too expensive or not a necessity, as the project was postponed for four years until April 23, 1914.

On June 4, the Board of Supervisors approved the construction of the Knightly Bridge after receiving updated cost estimates for an iron span measuring 175-feet long and 16-feet wide to be completed at a cost of no more than $3,000. The one-lane bridge was completed in the spring of 1915 by the Champion Bridge Company of Wilmington, Ohio.

A 2001 inspection noted that the bridge required rehabilitation as the crossing featured isolated cracking, section loss and pitting in the steel and other deterioration. Repairs were completed shortly after, which included a new bridge deck and stringers, and other repairs. The bridge was slated for repainting, but a new coat of paint would not have solved the ongoing issues of crevice corrosion and pack rust. In addition, 2.0 and 25 mils of tightly adhered paint – lead based, was discovered. To compensate, the bridge was given a high pressure water wash cleaning with Chlor*Rid and an overcoat of Termarust high ratio co-polymerized calcium sulfonate coating system in August 2005. No lead paint was removed.

An inspection a year later noted no further corrosion or rust. The use of the Chlor*Rid and Thermarust treatment saved the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) over $63,000.

Carpenter’s Ford Bridge carries Craig Shop Road (Virginia Route 775) over the Middle River in Augusta County. The one-lane Pratt thorugh truss was completed in 1903-1904 by the Brackett Bridge Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The first crossing of the Middle River near John W. Carpenter’s farm was established after the Civil War, between 1865 and 1885. A petition for a bridge at Carpenter’s Ford was filed in the Augusta County Court by John Carpenter and nearby citizens on June 22, 1903. The petition was referred to the Middle River District Road Board, and on July 30, the board recommended that a fixed crossing be built for no more than $4,500. One-fourth of the cost, or $1,300, would be provided by the petitioners with the remainder provided by the county. The money – most from Carpenter himself, was delivered to the board on August 24.

Construction on the substructure of the bridge began in the fall of 1903. A $1,000 contract for the abutments was let on December 19 to J.T. Muddiman. On January 25, 1904, a $1,825 warrant was ordered issued to the Brackett Bridge Company and superstructure work was completed later that year. In 2001, repair work was completed that included a new deck, stringers and floor beams and a new coat of paint.

Kerr’s Crossing Bridge is a pony truss bridge over Christians Creek on New Hope-Laurel Hill Road – today’s Virginia Route 907 in Augusta County, Virginia. The pin-connected Pratt pony truss was completed in the spring of 1899 by the Brackett Bridge Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

A road crossed Christian’s Creek in the vicinity of the bridge prior to 1865, but it was most likely a ford. V.B. Kerr and others filed a petition to construct a bridge over the creek near Kerr’s Mill in the Middle River District Road Board on May 3, 1892. But on April 28, 1893, the court delayed making a decision on the bridge because the finances were stretched thin at that point.

In the fall, the Board heard arguments in favor of the bridge, and the court issued an opinion stating that the bridge was a necessity for the public and for agricultural interests. On October 2, the court approved construction with the requirement that the costs not exceed the Road Board’s estimate of $1,902.50. The county contributed $1,742 towards the construction cost, with the remaining $160 sourced from a subscription list.

Construction was slated to begin on October 27, 1893, but county funds were available beginning in 1898 due to the depression of 1893. Kerr’s Crossing Bridge was completed at a cost of $2,038.40. The manufacturer stamp on the steel read “Cambria,” referring to the Cambria Steel Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The Mount Meridian Bridge was constructed in 1907 by the Champion Bridge Company of Wilmington, Ohio and carried Virginia Route 256 over the Middle River. The three-span, pin-connected Pratt through truss connected Grottoes to Weyers Cave.

The first crossing of the area was at a gristmill on the Middle River opposite of the village of Mount Meridian. The dam and mill had existed prior to 1797, and the location provided an easy fording point for travelers along Snowflake Mill Road, connecting the Valley Turnpike and the Staunton-Port Republic Road. In 1890, Shendun was founded approximately 1.5 miles east and in 1899, the Grottoes Land Company began purchasing large tracts of land for a community centered around industry and tourism – especially of the caves at Weyers and others in the Shenandoah Valley.

A single iron span with masonry abutments and wooden approaches was constructed over the Middle River at Mount Meridian in the 1870s to handle the increasing traffic. It was repaired between July and October 1884 by covering the exposed timbers with metal roofing and applying two coats of paint to the woodwork and one coat to the iron span. Additional repairs were authorized on June 6, 1903 for $156, but just a little over two weeks after, the local Road Board requested an additional $800 to cover additional repairs. But the work did not last long as on October 26, 1906, John G. Fulton, a member of the county of Board of Supervisors and a Mount Meridian native, was ordered to contract for the work necessary to put the crossing back into good repair. Fulton suggested a new bridge, and on November 26, the Board ordered that the matter of repairing the existing span or building a new bridge be referred to the local Road Board.

Just a month later, on December 24, Fulton was authorized to go into contract with the Champion Bridge Company for a new bridge over the Middle River. The new Mount Meridian Bridge was completed on June 27, 1907 for $7,000. Repairs to the abutments were completed in 1912. Other repairs occurred during periodic floods, the last in 1985 that closed the bridge for months. It was reopened after the local community resisted efforts to abandon the span.

In 1967, a new alignment to the north was constructed for Virginia Route 256 as part of the Interstate 81 completion through the county, which included a new crossing of the Middle River. Afterwards, the former alignment was re-designated Virginia Route 769. In 1997, the Mount Meridian Bridge was closed to all traffic due to structural deterioration.

Below: An earlier photograph by the Historic American Engineering Record.

The Mount Meridian Bridge was identified as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s. The assessment was reiterated in August 1996 by the Historic Structures Task Group and reconfirmed by the Virginia State Historic Preservation Office and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Commissioner on October 23, 1997. Due to the structural deterioration, repairing and reopening the bridge to automobiles was not recommended by VDOT. Preventive maintenance was found to not be applicable due to the condition. Because of that, selling the bridge to a private owner was not recommended. Because of its location, size and condition, reusing or relocating the bridge was also not feasible. Reusing the bridge for pedestrians was found to be acceptable, given that funds for painting the bridge and repairing the most deteriorated sections could be found. Rehabilitation of the bridge for pedestrian use is eligible for Transportation 75 Enhancement Program funding if there is a match of at least 20% of the cost.

The Chesapeake Western Railway crossing of North River at Stokesville, Virginia was completed in 1901 for the Chesapeake Western Railway (CW). The CW was extended into the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains with the hope of discovering high grade coal, but early mines played out and the railroad served primarily logging interests. The CW was neutered to Mt. Solon in 1930 and then to Bridgewater three years later. The Stokesville Bridge was later reused for a roadway.

More history on the Chesapeake Western Railway can be found at my partner site, Abandoned.

I concluded my travel through Virginia with the discovery of the Crab Run Bridge while traveling westward along US 250 towards West Virginia. The Crab Run span was constructed in 1896 by the West Virginia Bridge Works of Wheeling, West Virginia and carried the Staunton to Petersburg Turnpike in McDowell. The route was a predecessor to US 250, which was constructed in 1927. It was at that time the span was bypassed with a two-lane bridge to the southwest. Eventually, the old alignment was re-designated Virginia Route 645.

The single-span, four-panel pony truss was constructed of railroad and trolley rails, a specification that had been patented by the Lane Bridge Company of Painted Post, New York in 1894. The patent had improved upon a design by Daniel Lane of 1890, which led to stronger connections of the floor and truss beams. The Lane Bridge Company was not the only manufacturer of bridges from rails - other similar truss bridge patents were granted to Jason C. Fenn of Connecticut in 1894 and J.E. Greiner of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1895. Although similar in the use of materials, the trusses for the other patents were configured differently. Rail truss bridges were used by the B&O as the standard bridge for overhead crossings on country roads in 1895, and were also good for spanning small streams by horse and buggies.

Only two bridges of this type were constructed in Virginia, with the Crab Run span the only such type existing in the state. The manufacturer stamp on the rails read "Cambria 1896," referring to the Cambria Steel Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

In 1994, the bridge closed to vehicular traffic due to structural load restrictions. Guardrails and a new wooden bridge deck were added and the span was reopened to pedestrians. The Crab Run Bridge was determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and was listed in 2009. The assessment was reiterated earlier by the Historic Structures Task Group in August 1996, which was confirmed by the Virginia State Historic Preservation Office and the Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner on October 23, 1997.