N&W in 1910--New bridge

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
December 25, 1910

ANOTHER N. & W. BRIDGE
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   Rumor That Work Will Commence in Early Spring--Old One Too Light
    If reports be true, work on the new N. & W. bridge to span the Ohio at Kenova will be commenced in the early spring.  It is known that blue prints have been prepared for the proposed structure, which, if built, will parallel with Portsmouth street, one square west of the present bridge.  The bridge now in use is too light for the heavy traffic, while the heavy grade and curvature at the approach makes it exceedingly hard for a tonnage train to cross the Ohio without the driving wheels slipping, thereby putting an extra strain upon that structure.
    Engineers have been working on the subject for a number of years endeavoring to solve the problem of reducing the grade.  It now seems that the only practicable way in which to reduce the grade would be to raise the bridge on this side ??* feet which would place it on the level in its entirety.  This, of course, would necessitate the raising of the road bed for a mile or so up Sandy [sic, Big Sandy] river.  While this would alleviate the grade question, still it would not reduce the curvature a particle.  But the plans for the new bridge cast these vexing problems aside, as they show a tunnel through the hill south of Kenova, doing entirely away with the mile or so of curvature and would permit a train to enter on the bridge at a level and have a straight line from a point south of Neal.
    It is said that the plans also show a roadway for wagons and other vehicles as well as a thoroughfare for a street car line.  The vehicle roadway would be a boon for the citizens of Kenova and vicinity, as hucksters could then cross from the Ohio side and dispose of their products instead of going to Ironton, as is now the case.
    Should the bridge be erected, a million or more dollars would necessarily have to be expended in the tri-state region, which would make things lively for a time at least.
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*This number was indistinct on the microfilm.

[The new double-track bridge was completed in early 1913, but not as described in the article.  Among other things, the tunnel on the east approach was not constructed, but the grade on the east approach was reduced from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent.  For another, the new double-track bridge was built around the old single-track (gauntlet track) bridge instead of one square west, and it was done while traffic continued to use the old bridge.  Also, there was no provision for wagons or streetcars on the new bridge.  Finally, the picture below from the Virginia Tech Image Database shows the east viaduct leading to the modern through truss bridge in the distance, with a train on the eastward track.  The view is (railroad) west (compass north) from Kenova, West Virginia to Ohio across the river.  Kenova is where the states of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia meet.]




Gordon Hamilton
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