This is the eighth in a series of entries celebrating infrastructure achievements in the United States.
What: The New River Gorge Bridge, the world’s longest spanning, steel single-arch bridge.
When: Construction was complete on the bridge on October 22, 1977.
Why: The New River Gorge Bridge reduced a 40-minute drive down narrow mountain roads and across one of North America’s oldest rivers to less than a minute.
Stats:
– Length: 4, 224 ft.
– Height: 876 ft.
Interesting facts: The New River Gorge Bridge was once chosen to represent the state of West Virginia on a commemorative coin.
The bridge weighs 88 million pounds (That’s heavier than 4,000 elephants!)
Once a year. West Virginia’s largest one day festival is held to celebrate the bridge (and surrounding the gorge). On “Bridge Day“, visitors can white-water raft under the bridge, BASE jump from it, and participate in many other activities.
Tags: Great American Infrastructure, The New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia
RSS Feed