U.S. Grant Bridge

U.S. Grant Bridge (current)

Current U.S. Grant Bridge carrying US 23 over the Ohio River.
Coordinates 38°43′39″N 82°59′50″W / 38.72750°N 82.99722°W / 38.72750; -82.99722Coordinates: 38°43′39″N 82°59′50″W / 38.72750°N 82.99722°W / 38.72750; -82.99722
Carries 2 lanes of US 23
Crosses Ohio River
Locale Portsmouth, Ohio and South Portsmouth, Kentucky
Maintained by Ohio Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design Cable-stayed bridge
Total length 657 m (2155 ft.)
Longest span 267 m (875 ft.)
History
Opened October 16, 2006 at a cost of more than $28,434,495

The U.S. Grant Bridge is the name of the two bridges that carry and have carried traffic on U.S. Route 23 between Portsmouth, Ohio and South Portsmouth, Kentucky across the Ohio River in the United States. The original suspension bridge was closed and demolished in 2001 and the replacement cable-stayed bridge opened on October 16, 2006.

Current U.S. Grant Bridge

Contracts for the new U.S. Grant Bridge were given in the spring of 2001. Construction was expected to be complete in June 2004, but work fell behind schedule due to inclement weather, unusual flooding of the Ohio River, and the partial sinking of a floating construction barge which carried one of the cranes used to work on the center span of the bridge. The date of completion was moved to October 16, 2006.

U.S. Grant Bridge under construction on June 21, 2005

In addition, many downtown business owners were upset over the delays and often criticized the construction company, C.J. Mahan Construction Company, for delays on days when it was sunny and the river levels were average. It should be noted that the bridge was critically underdesigned and not constructible until C.J. Mahan stopped construction and awaited a near complete redesign by the design consultant. Another complaint was that this is the first major bridge project the construction company that was awarded the construction contract has worked on. However, C.J. Mahan has constructed other large bridges in Ohio and West Virginia. Local business owners demanded that ODOT pay local businesses $8 million in lost profit.

A view of the current bridge from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River

Original U.S. Grant Bridge

U.S. Grant Bridge (former)

1930s postcard
Coordinates

38°43′50″N 82°59′49″W / 38.73056°N 82.99694°W / 38.73056; -82.99694

General U.S. Grant Bridge
Location Ohio R.-Chillicothe and Second St., South Portsmouth, Kentucky
Coordinates 38°43′29″N 82°59′53″W / 38.72472°N 82.99806°W / 38.72472; -82.99806
Built 1927
Architect Robinson and Steinman; et al.
Architectural style Cable suspension bridge
NRHP Reference # 01000560[1]
Added to NRHP May 31, 2001
Carries 2 lanes of US 23
Crosses Ohio River
Locale Portsmouth, Ohio and South Portsmouth, Kentucky
Maintained by Ohio Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design Suspension bridge
History
Opened 1927
Closed 2001
Statistics
Toll tolls dropped in 1974

The original U.S. Grant Bridge was a suspension bridge. The bridge opened to traffic as a toll bridge in 1927. It wasn't until 1974 when the Ohio Department of Transportation bought the bridge from the Ohio Bridge Commission and removed the tolls. The U.S. Grant Bridge was the only automobile bridge in Scioto County to cross the Ohio River which became a nightmare when the bridge closed for repairs in 1978 which then reopened in 1980. However, Scioto County would have more arteries to cross with the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge opened in 1984 and the Carl Perkins Bridge opened in 1988.

In 1992, ODOT initiated a long-range study to determine whether to continue to rehabilitate the existing bridge or construct a new span. ODOT had spent $9 million from 1977 to 1996 by the time the study was completed to rehabilitate portions of the bridge. According to the study, rehabilitating the span would add only 20 useful years to the suspension bridge before rehabilitation would need to occur again and would cost nearly $30 million. It was found not cost-efficient to continuously rehabilitate the suspension bridge when a new structure would be cheaper in the long-run. The bridge continued to age and once again closed from repairs in 1994.

On July 3, 2001, the original suspension bridge was permanently closed to traffic and the entire structure was torn down within a few months.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:U.S. Grant Bridge.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
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