Original U.S. Grant Bridge
| U.S. Grant Bridge (former) | |
|---|---|
| Carries | 2 lanes of U.S. Route 23 |
| Crosses | Ohio River |
| Locale | Portsmouth, Ohio and South Shore, Kentucky |
| Maintained by | Ohio Department of Transportation |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Opened | 1927 |
| Toll | tolls dropped in 1974 |
| Closed | 2001 |
| Coordinates |
38°43′50″N 82°59′49″W / 38.73056°N 82.99694°W / 38.73056; -82.99694 |
| General U.S. Grant Bridge | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| 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 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Built: | 1927 |
| Architect: | Robinson and Steinman; et.al. |
| Architectural style: | Cable suspension bridge |
| Governing body: | State |
| NRHP Reference#: | 01000560 |
| Added to NRHP: | May 31, 2001 |
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.
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