Posted May 31, 20232 yr Two remarkable bridges span the majestic Ohio River in the picturesque region where Portsmouth, Ohio, meets Greenup County, Kentucky: the U.S. Grant Bridge, a cable-stayed suspension bridge, and the Carl D. Perkins Memorial Bridge, a cantilevered Warren through truss bridge. Initially designed by the engineering firm Robinson & Steinman in the early 20th century, the U.S. Grant Bridge carried US Route 23. It was initially a wire suspension bridge and held the distinction of being the second suspension bridge in the United States with a continuous stiffening truss and the first to have rocker-type towers. With much excitement and celebration, it opened in September 1927 and remained a toll bridge until 1974. However, in 1978, a thorough inspection uncovered significant cable deterioration, leading to an urgent closure and emergency repairs. The closure of the Grant Bridge triggered a demand for an additional bridge in the Portsmouth area. Two options were considered: building a bridge parallel to the existing Grant Bridge or constructing one 1.1 miles downstream. Ultimately, the latter alternative was chosen. Construction commenced in 1985, and the new Carl D. Perkins Memorial Bridge opened in January 1988. In 1992, ODOT conducted a study to decide whether to renovate the Grant Bridge or build a new one, as it was nearing the end of its service life. The study concluded that further renovations would only extend its lifespan by 20 years. Consequently, a decision was made to construct a new bridge. The old U.S. Grant Bridge was closed on June 30 and dismantled soon after. The new cable-stayed suspension bridge, designed by ODOT, opened for traffic on October 16, 2006, marking the state’s first design of its kind across the Ohio River. I've posted more photos and narrative here.
May 31, 20232 yr Author 12 minutes ago, Gramarye said: Are these your photos? Did you take them with a drone? Some nice overhead angles! Yes - bridgestunnels.com is one of my sites. Thank you 😊
May 31, 20232 yr These are excellent photos, Sherman. Thanks! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 1, 20232 yr Good stuff. The Carl Perkins bridge still had an "Ohio, Heart of it All" welcome sign until 2019 or so. I guess they'll have to put it back up now.
June 13, 20232 yr Absolutely stunning pictures! Portsmouth is on my list of places to travel to (it's one of the last areas of Ohio I need to knock out on my 88 county tour 😆) but it's just ever so slightly too far from Columbus to do an easy day trip there!
June 13, 20232 yr Wow, for the years that the Grant Bridge was closed you had to drive all the way to either Maysville or Ironton-Russell to get to Kentucky. The Jesse Stuart Bridge wasn't built yet.
June 25, 20231 yr Great pictures. Are those actual mountains in the distance behind Portsmouth? I didn’t realize southern Ohio had that kind of topography. I knew there were rolling hills in southeastern Ohio (Appalachian foothills?), but these seem bigger.
June 29, 20231 yr Author On 6/25/2023 at 5:01 PM, jeremyck01 said: Greet pictures. Are those actual mountains in the distance behind Portsmouth? I didn’t realize southern Ohio had that kind of topography. I knew there were rolling hills in southeastern Ohio (Appalachian foothills?), but these seem bigger. There are some steep hills behind Portsmouth. It's a bit more dramatic because of the Scioto River valley, but you are looking at an elevation change of 512 feet (Scioto River) to 1,096 feet (near Rosemont Road). It's just as hilly on the west side with elevations topping 1,000 feet easily and in Kentucky where it gets up to 1,100 feet.
June 29, 20231 yr Author On 6/12/2023 at 8:24 PM, Dblcut3 said: Absolutely stunning pictures! Portsmouth is on my list of places to travel to (it's one of the last areas of Ohio I need to knock out on my 88 county tour 😆) but it's just ever so slightly too far from Columbus to do an easy day trip there! 1.5 hours via US 23! But I am biased. We would do the trip to Columbus from Ashland (KY) often because of the Korean grocery store.
June 29, 20231 yr On 6/25/2023 at 5:01 PM, jeremyck01 said: Greet pictures. Are those actual mountains in the distance behind Portsmouth? I didn’t realize southern Ohio had that kind of topography. I knew there were rolling hills in southeastern Ohio (Appalachian foothills?), but these seem bigger. The Ohio River between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh is pretty consistently surrounded by forested hills. The hills start downstream from Cincinnati, around Madison, Indiana. There aren't any hills around Louisville or between there and the Mississippi River. The weird thing about the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers is that for as big as they are, people hardly know that they exist, since the interstate highways generally aren't built parallel to them and where they do, the rivers are usually out-of-sight. For example, I-71 runs parallel to the Ohio River for 100 miles between Louisville and Cincinnati, but you don't catch a glimpse of the river even once.
June 29, 20231 yr Author And even when there are freeways or otherwise good four-lanes, those roads are overlooked for interstates. Why would one take Interstate 77-70 when it is just as fast to take OH Route 7?
July 1, 20231 yr it looks like there is a road that follows along the river, rt52 in the west and rt7 in the east, no? also rt8/rt2 just across in ky. can you see the river from these drives? i mean it says ohio river scenic byway on the map, so i would assume so ??? i have driven on some of that, but long ago and i don't recall. i guess its that choice you have to make for speed vs views, more famously like I-95 vs A1A down florida, or I-5 vs 101 along the west coast.
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