:Fort Steuben Bridge

{{Infobox bridge

| bridge_name = Fort Steuben Bridge

| image = Steubenville, Ohio, Fort Steuben Bridge.jpg

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| carries = 2 lanes of vehicular traffic, 1 pedestrian sidewalk

| crosses = Ohio River

| locale = Between Steubenville, Ohio, and Weirton, West Virginia

| owner = Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT)

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| engineering = The Dravo Contracting Company{{cite web |last= Wolfe |first= G. F. |title= Stanton Bridge over the Ohio River |url= http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D11/Fort%20Stueben%20Bridge%20Files/17130.PDF |format= PDF, blueprints |access-date= February 21, 2012 |date= June 21, 1927 |publisher= The Dravo Contracting Company }}

| design = Suspension bridge

| material = Steel superstructure

| length = {{convert|1584|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|29|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web |last= Shoemaker |first= E. F. |title= Stanton Bridge over the Ohio River |url= http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D11/Fort%20Stueben%20Bridge%20Files/17130_rc.PDF |format= PDF, blueprints |access-date=February 21, 2012 |date=November 25, 1927 |publisher=The Dravo Contracting Company }}

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| mainspan = {{convert|688|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}

| spans = 7

| pierswater = 6

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| below = {{convert|41.3|ft|m|abbr=on}} above high water

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| complete = {{start date|1928}}

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| closed = January 2009 (closed)
{{End date|2012|02|21}} (demolished)

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| coordinates = {{coord|40.37982|N|80.61329|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title|name=Fort Steuben Bridge}}

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The Fort Steuben Bridge, originally the Weirton-Steubenville Bridge, was a suspension bridge which spanned the Ohio River from Steubenville, Ohio to Weirton, West Virginia and carried U.S. Route 22 and then Ohio State Route 822 during its existence. Completed in 1928 and opened as a toll bridge, the Fort Steuben Bridge was a more direct route for the flow of traffic across the river; particularly for trucks and heavy vehicles from the industrial area. The Fort Steuben Bridge was weight-restricted in 2006 and closed in 2009 due to deterioration. The bridge was demolished by Joseph B. Fay Co. on February 21, 2012.

Construction

Originally named the Weirton-Steubenville Bridge, construction of the bridge began in 1927 and was completed in 1928.{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Robert Ralston|title=The Ohio River: Charts, Drawings, and Description of Features Affecting Navigation : War Department Rules and Regulations for the River and Its Tributaries : Navigable Depths and Tables of Distances for Tributaries|year=1929|pages=207}} Under the direction of the Dravo Contracting Company's Engineering Works Department, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the project was referred to as the "Stanton Bridge over the Ohio River at Steubenville, Ohio". The bridge spanned {{convert|1584|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} and had a width of {{convert|29|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}

Service life

Serving as a link between Steubenville, Ohio and Weirton, West Virginia, the Fort Steuben Bridge opened as a toll bridge in November 1928.{{cite web | url=http://hsconnect.com/page/content.detail/id/569746/Date-set--for-Fort--Steuben--Bridge--blast.html | title=Date set for Fort Steuben Bridge blast | publisher=Herald Star | date=February 1, 2012 | access-date=January 29, 2014 | author=Warren, Scott | archive-date=February 2, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202145234/http://hsconnect.com/page/content.detail/id/569746/Date-set--for-Fort--Steuben--Bridge--blast.html | url-status=dead }}{{cite book|title=Highway Topics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M8QkAAAAMAAJ|year=1928|page=13|publisher=Ohio Good Roads Federation}} The bridge was the main carrier of U.S. Route 22 over the Ohio River, its traffic included trucks and heavy duty vehicles associated with the industrial facilities in Weirton-Steubenville area and along the Ohio River. The Fort Steuben Bridge provided a more direct route for the flow of traffic which previously had to use the Market Street Bridge. As of 1940 the toll for the bridge was 5 cents (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|0.05|1940|r=2}}}} with inflation{{Inflation-fn|US}}) for pedestrians and 25 cents (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|0.25|1940|r=2}}}} with inflation) for automobiles.{{cite book|title=Ohio: The Ohio Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDzHs_yR1WQC&pg=PA319|year=1940|publisher=Federal Writers|isbn=978-1-62376-034-2|page=319}} The toll was removed in 1947,{{cite book|last1=Day|first1=Sandra Hudnall|last2=Hall|first2=Alan|title=Steubenville|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhCIY6H8sv8C&pg=PA56|year=2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-3399-5|page=56}}{{efn|Sources differ in whether this was 1947 or in the 1950s }} when ownership of the bridge was transferred to the State of Ohio. Improvements to the bridge were made in 1956.

By the late 1970s, traffic congestion on the bridge had become a serious problem. A 1978 study revealed that although the bridge could handle a peak 1,600 vehicles passing over the bridge per hour, excess traffic pushing it towards its theoretical capacity of 1,920 vehicles per hour could potentially cause gridlock on the bridge.{{cite book|title=Ohio River Bridge and Relocated US-22, Weirton WV to Steubenville OH: Environmental Impact Statement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=re03AQAAMAAJ|year=1978|page=37}} The United States Senate report accompanying the fiscal 1983 appropriation bill for the United States Department of Transportation mentioned that its replacement had become a high priority.{{cite book|title=Department of Transportation and related agencies appropriations for fiscal year ...: hearings before the subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate|chapter=Progress on Weirton-Steubenville Bridge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdUeAQAAMAAJ|year=1984|publisher=U.S. G.P.O.|pages=138–9}} A proposed schedule was for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to receive plans for a cable stayed superstructure by February 1, 1983, and for the project to be approved by mid-April 1983.

Fort Steuben Bridge's replacement, the Veterans Memorial Bridge, was completed in 1990. The Ohio Department of Transportation capped funding for maintaining the Fort Steuben Bridge in 1998 at around $200,000 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|200000|1998|r=-4}}}} with inflation{{Inflation-fn|US}}) per year.{{cite news | title=Planning council examines bridge options | work=State Journal | date=February 18, 2005 | author=Harris, Linda|id = {{ProQuest|220059213}}}} The Fort Steuben Bridge was weight-restricted in 2006 due to the weakening of the structure over time.{{cite press release | url=http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D11/newsreleases/Pages/0115092.aspx | title=Fort Steuben Bridge Will Remain Closed | publisher=Ohio Department of Transportation | date=January 15, 2009 | access-date=January 29, 2014 | last=McCarty | first=Becky | archive-date=October 29, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192438/http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D11/newsreleases/Pages/0115092.aspx | url-status=dead }} The assessment prompted a weight limit; reducing the bridge's traffic which consisted of heavy trucks. The bridge was known to be affected by rain vibration.{{cite book|last=Caetano|first=Elsa de Sá|title=Cable Vibrations in Cable-stayed Bridges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQh2xnPxZYsC&pg=PA53|date=1 January 2007|publisher=IABSE|isbn=978-3-85748-115-4|page=53}}{{cite book|last1=Bosela|first1=Paul A.|last2=Delatte|first2=Norbert J.|title=Forensic Engineering: Proceedings of the 4th Congress, October 6-9, 2006, Cleveland, Ohio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYHrgwkG8d4C&pg=PA364|year=2007|publisher=ASCE Publications|isbn=978-0-7844-0853-7|page=364}}

Closing and demolition

On January 8, 2009, a dip in the floor of the bridge was reported in the course of routine maintenance, prompting an inspection on the bridge. On January 15, 2009, the Ohio Department of Transportation deemed the bridge unfit for traffic, citing "significant deteriorating changes in the floor condition of the bridge." Repairs to the bridge were not conducted because the bridge was expected to be demolished in late 2009 and the cost of the repairs would not be "cost effective or prudent".

The Fort Steuben Bridge was destroyed in a controlled demolition on February 21, 2012.{{cite document | title=One Bridge Down, One Still Waiting to Come Down | publisher=State Journal | date=February 24, 2012 | author=Ross, Jim|id = {{ProQuest|940853421}}}} The Ohio Department of Transportation contracted Joseph B. Fay Co. to demolish the bridge. The roadway and approaches were removed in preparation for the demolition. A collection of 490 linear shape charges were used in 136 locations along the span, totaling {{convert|153|lb}} of explosives. The charges were rigged in a series of 20 blasts, each lasting only 0.35 seconds and occurring only nine milliseconds apart.{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Warren|title=Blast topples Fort Steuben Bridge|url=http://www.heraldstaronline.com/page/content.detail/id/570539/Blast-topples-Fort-Steuben-Bridge.html?nav=5010|access-date=March 20, 2012|newspaper=Herald Star|date=February 21, 2012|archive-date=April 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411095715/http://heraldstaronline.com/page/content.detail/id/570539/Blast-topples-Fort-Steuben-Bridge.html?nav=5010|url-status=dead}} The cleanup of the debris was done by River Salvage Co. of Pittsburgh. The demolition was featured in a Scholastic SuperScience article and it included a picture of the demolition spread across two pages.{{cite journal | title=Exploding Bridge | journal=Scholastic SuperScience |date=February 2013 | volume=24 | issue=5}}

References

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;Citations

External links

{{cite web|url= http://www.historicbridges.org/ohio/fortsteuben/plans.pdf |title=Collection of bridge plans }}
{{YouTube|id= IVNM8LFVzUE |title= Fort Steuben Bridge Demolition}} by user OhioTransportation, official account created by the Ohio Department of Transportation

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Ohio River

|bridge = Fort Steuben Bridge (demolished)

|bridge signs = Former 25px

|upstream = Wayne Six Toll Bridge

|upstream signs =

|downstream = Veterans Memorial Bridge

|downstream signs = 20px

}}

Category:Road bridges in West Virginia

Category:Road bridges in Ohio