Cincinnati Southern Bridge from southeast

The Cincinnati Southern Bridge, originally the Cincinnati Southern Railroad Swinging Truss Bridge, is a

vertical lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swi ...

that carries the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (3 ...

Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (abbreviated: CNO&TP; ) is a railroad that leases the Cincinnati Southern Railway from Cincinnati, Ohio, south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and sub leases it to the Norfolk Southern Railway syst ...

over the Ohio River between

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, and

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The bridge is composed of four

through truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or s ...

spans: a main span on the northern side of the bridge, a currently unused vertical lift span on the southern side, and two additional spans over the main shipping channels in the center of the bridge. The bridge crosses the Ohio River just downstream from downtown Cincinnati, and can be seen clearly from the lower level of the nearby

Brent Spence Bridge The Brent Spence Bridge is a double decker, cantilevered truss bridge that carries Interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. The top deck carries Kentucky-bound traffic while the bottom dec ...

History

The Cincinnati Southern Railway Bridge was begun in 1875; construction was completed in December, 1877, and the bridge immediately opened to traffic. Its cost exclusive of right of way was $811,683. The

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

was the longest bridge of its type when it was completed. It was extensively modernized in 1922, and it remains the busiest railroad bridge in the city of Cincinnati today. The modernization replaced a swing span with a vertical lift span that was designed to rise only 13 feet. That was all that was considered necessary for clearance during periods of high water. The span was visually unique in that the swing pier from the original structure was left in place even though it was no longer physically connected to the bridge. Since 1976, the bridge's vertical lift span has been abandoned in its closed position, forcing all ships to pass under the center truss spans. For

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

s, the bridge marks the end of their Ohio River voyage.

References

External links

Cincinnati Southern Bridge
at Bridges & Tunnels Railroad bridges in Kentucky Railroad bridges in Ohio Bridges in Cincinnati Bridges over the Ohio River Norfolk Southern Railway bridges Southern Railway (U.S.) Truss bridges in the United States Swing bridges in the United States Metal bridges in the United States {{Ohio-bridge-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links