The Ben Williamson Memorial Bridge, known locally as the Old Ben, is a

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

that connects

Coal Grove, Ohio Coal Grove is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,165 at the 2010 census. It borders the city of Ironton and lies across the Ohio River from Ashland, Kentucky. It is linked to Ashland by ...

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,6 ...

, crossing the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. Completed in 1932, it is named for

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Ben M. Williamson Ben Mitchell Williamson (October 16, 1864June 23, 1941) was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Born in Pike County, Kentucky, Williamson attended the rural schools of Kentucky and Bethany College in West Virginia. He engaged in the whol ...

. The bridge was formerly a two-way span before the parallel

Simeon Willis Memorial Bridge Simeon Willis Memorial Bridge is a bridge crossing the Ohio River connecting US 23 and (US 60) in Ashland, Kentucky to US 52 in Coal Grove, Ohio. Opened in 1985, the bridge is named for Kentucky Governor Simeon S. Willis. The bridge was origin ...

was completed upstream in 1985. Since 1985, the Williamson bridge is used for southbound (Kentucky-bound) traffic. Since the completion of the Willis bridge, the Williamson Bridge has been closed and traffic in both directions has been diverted to the Willis bridge four times. In 1989 and 2018, the Williamson bridge was closed for renovations and for painting in 2007. The Williamson bridge was also closed and traffic again diverted to the Willis Bridge for several months in 2013 after a tractor-trailer ran into the tower on the Ohio side, causing structural damage to the bridge. The shorter Ohio portion of the bridge officially carries part of

Ohio State Route 652 State Route 652 (SR 652) is a north–south unsigned highway, unsigned state highway in the southern portion of Ohio. Its southern terminus is on the Ben Williamson Memorial Bridge and Simeon Willis Memorial Bridge on the Ohio River nea ...

but is not signed as such.

References

External links

Ben Williamson Bridge
at Bridges & Tunnels Ashland, Kentucky Bridges over the Ohio River Bridges completed in 1932 Transportation in Lawrence County, Ohio Buildings and structures in Lawrence County, Ohio Road bridges in Kentucky Road bridges in Ohio Buildings and structures in Boyd County, Kentucky Transportation in Boyd County, Kentucky Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Cantilever bridges in the United States {{Ohio-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References

External links