Wheeling Suspension Bridge

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View from the Wheeling Suspension Bridge from 1977.
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View from the Wheeling Suspension Bridge from 1977.

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the East channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was opened in 1851. It was built by Charles Ellet Jr.,

In 1854, a strong windstorm collapsed the deck of the bridge, forcing Ellet to rebuild it. Although it has been rebuilt numerous times since then (once by Ellett's partner William McComas, and later by William Hildenbrand), the bridge remains in active service.

The bridge spans a distance of 1,010 feet (308 m) across the Ohio River so as to allow boats to pass underneath it. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the USA that is still in use. The bridge is listed as a National Historic Landmark and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

A view of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge from Wheeling Island. Located directly behind it is the Fort Henry Bridge.
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A view of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge from Wheeling Island. Located directly behind it is the Fort Henry Bridge.
Flood of 1852 - Earliest known photograph of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.
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Flood of 1852 - Earliest known photograph of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

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Preceded by:
'
List of Largest Suspension Bridges
1849 - 1851
Succeeded by:
Queenston-Lewiston Bridge
Preceded by:
Queenston-Lewiston Bridge
List of Largest Suspension Bridges
1864 - 1867
Succeeded by:
John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge


Bridges of the Ohio River
Upstream
Fort Henry Bridge
Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Downstream
I-470 Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places - (List of entries)

National Park Service . National Historic Landmarks . National Battlefields . National Historic Sites . National Historic Parks . National Memorials . National Monuments