The John O'Connell Bridge is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

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 ...

located in

Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...

. The bridge connects the town of Sitka on Baranof Island to the airport and Coast Guard Station on Japonski Island. Until the bridge was completed in 1971, the commute was only achievable through a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

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 county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

, 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 The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

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