The Hi Carpenter Memorial Bridge 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 ...

over 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 ...

between Newport, Ohio and

St. Marys, West Virginia St. Marys is a city and the county seat of Pleasants County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,847 at the 2020 census. St. Marys was established in 1849 by Alexander Creel, who is said to have had a vision of Mary while pas ...

. It carries Ohio State Route 807 (SR 807) and West Virginia Route 807 (WV 807) and serves to connect WV 2 with

OH 7 OH 7 (Olduvai Hominid № 7), also nicknamed "Johnny's Child", is the type specimen of ''Homo habilis''. The fossils were discovered on November 4, 1960 in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Jonathan and Mary Leakey. The remains are dated to approximate ...

Description

The Hi Carpenter Memorial Bridge begins immediately to the north of the road's T intersection with WV 2 (Pleasants Highway) just west of the city of St. Marys in

Pleasants County, West Virginia Pleasants County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,653. Its county seat is St. Marys. Pleasants County is part of the Parkersburg-Vienna, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Histo ...

. WV 2 heads southwest toward

Parkersburg Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metro ...

and northeast into St. Marys, where it provides access to

WV 16 West Virginia Route 16 (WV 16) is a north–south route located in the U.S. State of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at the Virginia state line in Bishop, McDowell County, where the route continues south as Virginia S ...

. The four-lane

cantilever truss 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 beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed ...

bridge crosses over

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

's Ohio River Subdivision rail line before crossing the Ohio River. The bridge crosses the West Virginia–Ohio state line near the Ohio bank of the river. The structure ends immediately after crossing over OH 7 just east of the unincorporated village of Newport in Newport Township in

Washington County, Ohio Washington County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,711. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Was ...

. From the north end of the bridge, the northern approach road has a sharp U-curve to the southeast to its end at an intersection with OH 7. OH 7 heads west through Newport toward

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

and northeast toward Matamoras. The Ohio portion of the bridge and its approach road is part of the OH 807. The West Virginia portion of the bridge and its approach road is part of WV 807.

History

The Hi Carpenter Memorial Bridge was completed in 1977. This bridge replaced a 1928

eyebar In structural engineering and construction, an eyebar is a straight bar, usually of metal, with a hole ("eye") at each end for fixing to other components. Eyebars are used in structures such as bridges, in settings in which only tension, and ne ...

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

that was closed immediately following the collapse of the similarly-designed

Silver Bridge The Silver Bridge was an eyebar-chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint. The bridge carried U.S. Route 35 over the Ohio River, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio. On Dece ...

in 1967. SR 807 was established in 1977 with the completion of the current Hi Carpenter Memorial Bridge. The bridge is named in honor of Hiram A. Carpenter (December 3, 1880 – April 19, 1970), a well-known

riverman Riverman (1969–1999) was a French Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Background Foaled in Kentucky, Riverman was bred by Harry F. Guggenheim of the prominent American Guggenheim family. Riverman was from the mare (horse), mare River Lady ...

who began his career ferrying mail between Raven Rock and Leith, Ohio, when he was 13 years old. He was successful in many enterprises, including the sand and gravel business, farming thirteen Ohio River islands that he owned at one time, apple raising, road construction, transportation, and his greatest undertaking, building the Short Route Bridge in 1928.James H. O'Donnell: ''Out of the Mud: Hiram Carpenter and the Ohio River Valley, 1880-1950'', John Deaver Drinko Academy, Huntington, W. Va., 2010.

References

External links

{{Coord, 39, 23, 16, N, 81, 12, 51, W, display=title Road bridges in West Virginia Bridges over the Ohio River Transportation in Pleasants County, West Virginia Buildings and structures in Pleasants County, West Virginia Bridges in Washington County, Ohio Road bridges in Ohio State highways in the United States shorter than one mile Cantilever bridges in the United States

Description

History

See also

References

External links