The Zanesville Y-Bridge is a historic Y-shaped three-way bridge that spans the confluence of the Licking and

Muskingum River The Muskingum River (Shawnee: ') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country o ...

s in downtown

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

. It carries the traffic of

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

(Main Street and West Main Street), as well as Linden Avenue.

History

The flow of Muskingum has been regulated by a series of dams and locks since the mid-19th century. Before the regulation serious floods often occurred, which washed away or weakened the earliest bridges."City of Zanesville History"
City of Zanesville, Ohio. The first Zanesville Y-Bridge was constructed in 1814. The

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangl ...

stood for four years. The second wooden bridge was erected in 1819. New roads were built in the area and traffic increased. A winter flood in 1831–1832 weakened the second bridge to be unsafe for the increased traffic. A third iteration, a wooden

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

was completed in 1832 and stood until 1900. The next bridge opened in early 1902. It had concrete

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

railings which were lost to the 1913 flood and replaced with pipe railings. The fourth bridge was deemed unsafe in 1979. After demolition it was found that only one of the three segments needed actual replacement, the other spans would have needed only surface repairs. The current concrete and steel bridge, a

multi-way bridge A multi-way bridge is a bridge with three or more distinct and separate spans, where one end of each span meets at a common point near the centre of the bridge. Unlike other bridges which have two entry-exit points, multi-way bridges have three ...

, is the fifth in the series on the same location. It opened in 1984. While being a relief to traffic and the citizens, it has received criticism for a tunnel-like effect due to its solid railings, providing hardly any view of the scenery. The bridge is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. It was listed in 1973, before the fourth bridge was replaced by the fifth.

References

External links

*
History of the various Zanesville Y-bridges
*http://www.muskingumcounty.org/mcybridge.html {{NRHP in Muskingum County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Muskingum County, Ohio Buildings and structures in Zanesville, Ohio Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Bridges completed in 1984 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System U.S. Route 40 Transportation in Muskingum County, Ohio Muskingum River Three-way bridges Steel bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links