The John O'Connell Bridge is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

over the

Sitka Channel The Sitka Channel is a strait that separates Japonski Island from Baranof Island in Alaska. The Sitka Channel, or more commonly referred to as simply The Channel by locals, is a notable feature of Sitka, Alaska that separates vital portions of in ...

located in

Sitka, Alaska russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

. The bridge connects the town of Sitka on

Baranof Island Baranof Island is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle, in Alaska. The name Baranof was given in 1805 by Imperial Russian Navy captain Yuri Lisyansky, U. F. Lisianski to honor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. It ...

to the airport and Coast Guard Station on

Japonski Island Japonski Island ( tli, Yak'w Kashaneixí, russian: остров Японский, ja, ヤポンスキー島) is a small island in the city of Sitka in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska, United States. It lies across the Sitka Channe ...

. Until the bridge was completed in 1971, the commute was only achievable through a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service. The bridge is named after John W. O'Connell, a former mayor of Sitka. The two-lane bridge is in total length, with a main span of . The bridge was also the United States' first vehicular cable-stayed girder spanned bridge. The four steel pylons carry two three-cable sets, each carrying a section of the bridge deck. Special consideration was given to the bridge's aesthetics due to its proximity to nearby Castle Hill. Approximately 4000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, up from the approximate 1000 shore boat passengers per day prior to the bridge's completion. A man from

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, died in August 2015 after jumping off the bridge to swim ashore. The bridge was designated as an Alaska Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 2022.

References

External links

* * Buildings and structures in Sitka, Alaska Bridges completed in 1972 Road bridges in Alaska Steel bridges in the United States Girder bridges in the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Alaska Cable-stayed bridges in the United States {{Alaska-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References

External links