The Bridge of Honor, commonly known as the Pomeroy–Mason 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 ...

over the Ohio River between the

American 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 ...

cities of

Pomeroy, Ohio Pomeroy ( ) is a village in and the county seat of Meigs County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River 21 miles south of Athens. The population was 1,852 at the 2010 census. History Pomeroy was founded in 1804 and named for landowner Samuel ...

and

Mason, West Virginia Mason, also known as Mason City, is a town in Mason County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 865 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Point Pleasant, WV– OH Micropolitan Statistical Area. Mason was initially known as Waggen ...

. With construction being carried out by the C.J. Mahan Construction Company and overseen by the

Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all Interstates except the Ohio T ...

, it was completed on December 30, 2008. Ownership of the bridge was transferred to the

West Virginia Division of Highways The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is the state agency responsible for transportation in West Virginia. The Department of Transportation serves an umbrella organization for seven subsidiary agencies which are directly responsi ...

upon completion. The crossing carries Ohio State Route 833 and West Virginia Route Spur 62.

Construction issues

The bridge was originally scheduled to open in 2006. However, numerous unforeseen issues delayed the construction. Although work began in 2003, river flooding, poor soil stability, a rock slide, and potentially problematic

formwork Formwork is molds into which concrete or similar materials are either precast or cast-in-place. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering molds. In specialty applications formwork may be permanently i ...

all caused setbacks in the building process. The final cost of the bridge was approximately US$65 million. At night, the bridge is illuminated by purple lights shining on the cables and towers.

Former bridge

Constructed in 1928, the two-lane

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 beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed ...

span once carried U.S. Highway 33. In 2003, it was renumbered to State Route 833 when US 33 was relocated along a new

super-two A super two, super two-lane highway or wide two-lane is a two-lane surface road built to highway standards with wide lanes and other safety features normally present on a freeway with more lanes, typically including partial control of access, o ...

highway to the

Ravenswood Bridge The William S. Ritchie Jr. Bridge, more commonly known as the Ravenswood Bridge, is a two-lane cantilever bridge in the United States, connecting Ravenswood, West Virginia and rural Meigs County, Ohio, across the Ohio River. It has a total l ...

. The original two-lane span's center span was demolished on at 8:49 a.m. EDT on April 21, 2009, with several hundred spectators viewing from the Pomeroy levee. The demolition was also broadcast live via an Internet feed on

WSAZ WSAZ-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Huntington, West Virginia, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves the Charleston, West Virginia, Charleston–Huntington media market, market, the second-largest television market (i ...

from Huntington, West Virginia. An eight-year-old boy was selected to press the detonation button. River traffic was halted for twenty-four hours to allow for clean-up. The remainder of the bridge was removed by June 2009. The cost to remove the center span was approximately $1 million US.

References

External links

Pomeroy-Mason Bridge
at Bridges & Tunnels

at Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere {{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy-Mason Bridge Road bridges in West Virginia Bridges over the Ohio River Bridges completed in 1928 Bridges completed in 2008 Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Buildings and structures in Mason County, West Virginia Transportation in Mason County, West Virginia Buildings and structures in Meigs County, Ohio Transportation in Meigs County, Ohio Road bridges in Ohio Pomeroy, Ohio 1928 establishments in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States

Construction issues

Former bridge

See also

References

External links