Construction
The bridge was designed as a cantilever truss bridge by J. E. Greiner and Company, with the Vang Construction Company as contractors of the substructure; the J.E. Moss Iron Works and the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company as co-contractors of the superstructure. The R. R. Kitchen company of Wheeling had charge of placing the floor in the bridge.
The bridge was constructed over 18 months starting in June 1925 at a cost of about $1.5 million, which is equivalent to $19.7 million in present day terms. Funds were raised primarily through subscription by local residents. During construction, hundreds worked on the bridge, and one worker was killed: Fred Morning fell from a pier on the Benwood, West Virginia side to the ground below on June 12, 1926.
Over seven million tons of structural steel was used in the construction of the bridge. Railroad track for streetcars was laid in the bridge deck, but never saw use. The bridge opened to traffic on December 22, 1926, with over 7,000 vehicles crossing it on its opening day.
Read more about this topic: Bellaire Bridge
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