Henderson Bridge (Ohio River)

Last updated
Henderson Bridge
L&N bridge at Henderson.jpg
Coordinates 37°50′44.1″N87°35′47.2″W / 37.845583°N 87.596444°W / 37.845583; -87.596444 Coordinates: 37°50′44.1″N87°35′47.2″W / 37.845583°N 87.596444°W / 37.845583; -87.596444
Carries CSX Transportation railroad
Crosses Ohio River
Locale Henderson, Kentucky and Vanderburgh County, Indiana
Characteristics
Design Truss bridge
Total length12,123 ft (3,695 m)
Longest span648 ft (198 m)
History
OpenedDecember 31, 1932
Location
Henderson Bridge (Ohio River)

The Henderson Bridge is a railroad bridge spanning the Ohio River between Henderson, Kentucky and Vanderburgh County, Indiana. The bridge is owned by the CSX Transportation.

The original bridge was constructed in 1884 to 1885 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at a cost of $2,000,000. The single-tracked bridge was approximately 3,686 feet (1,123 m) long, and its longest span, at 525 feet (160 m), was reputed to be the longest trestle span in the world at that time. The bridge ran from the northern edge of Main Street in Henderson to the low water mark on the Indiana side, resting on 15 stone piers. It was designed to carry two 118,000-pound (54,000 kg) engines followed by 60,000-pound (27,000 kg) coal tenders, and its maximum uniform load capacity was 2,500 pounds per foot (3,700 kg/m). A crowd of 8,000 watched the first train cross the bridge on July 13, 1885. [1]

Prior to the opening of the bridge, railroad passengers and freight had to be transferred to a ferry for the river crossing. The bridge reduced the travel time by several hours. [2]

By 1930 the volume and weight of train traffic were taxing the capabilities of the original bridge. Construction of a new bridge just upstream of the old one began in May 1931. The new bridge, costing over $3,000,000, opened on December 31, 1932. Including its approaches, It is 12,123 feet (3,695 m) long, and its span over the main channel is 648 feet (198 m) long. The demolition of the old bridge, using dynamite, was completed on December 11, 1933. [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio River</span> Major river in the midwestern United States

The Ohio River is a 981-mile (1,579 km) long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It is the third largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River that divides the eastern from western United States. It is also the 6th oldest river on the North American continent. The river flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for five million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloverport, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Cloverport is a home rule-class city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States, on the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 1,152 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monon Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Monon Railroad, also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1971, and much of the former Monon right of way is owned today by CSX Transportation. In 1970, it operated 540 miles (870 km) of road on 792 miles (1,275 km) of track; that year it reported 1320 million ton-miles of revenue freight and zero passenger-miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Railway Museum</span> Railroad museum in New Haven, Kentucky,US

The Kentucky Railway Museum, now located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originally created in 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, the museum is at its third location, in extreme southern Nelson County. It is one of the oldest railroad stations in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Southbank Bridge</span> Bridge in Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio

The Newport Southbank Bridge, popularly known as the Purple People Bridge, stretches 2,670 feet over the Ohio River, connecting Newport, Kentucky to downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherman Minton Bridge</span> Double-deck through arch bridge spanning the Ohio River at Louisville, carrying I-64

The Sherman Minton Bridge is a double-deck through arch bridge spanning the Ohio River, carrying I-64 and US 150 over the river between Kentucky and Indiana. The bridge connects the west side of Louisville, Kentucky to downtown New Albany, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Four Bridge</span> Pedestrian bridge that crosses the Ohio River at Louisville, KY

The Big Four Bridge is a six-span former railroad truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was completed in 1895, updated in 1929, taken out of rail service in 1968, and converted to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2014. The largest single span is 547 feet (167 m), with the entire bridge spanning 2,525 feet (770 m). It took its name from the defunct Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, which was nicknamed the "Big Four Railroad".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge</span> Single-deck cantilever bridge that carries southbound I-65 across the Ohio River at Louisville

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge is a six-lane, single-deck cantilever bridge that carries southbound Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The main span is 700 feet (213 m) and the bridge has a total length of 2,498 feet (761 m). The span carries six southbound lanes. It is named after U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

The Ohio River Bridges Project was a transportation project in the Louisville metropolitan area involving the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange, the completion of two new Ohio River bridges, and the reconstruction of ramps on Interstate 65 between Muhammad Ali Boulevard and downtown Louisville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourteenth Street Bridge (Ohio River)</span> Railroad bridge over the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Indiana

The Fourteenth Street Bridge, also known as the Ohio Falls Bridge, Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, Conrail Railroad Bridge or Louisville and Indiana (L&I) Bridge, is a truss drawbridge that spans the Ohio River, between Louisville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge</span> Railroad bridge over the Ohio River from Louisville, KY to New Albany, IN

The Kentucky & Indiana Bridge is one of the first multi modal bridges to cross the Ohio River. It is for both railway and common roadway purposes together. By federal, state, and local law railway and streetcar, wagon-way, and pedestrian modes of travel were intended by the City of New Albany, City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, State of Indiana, the United States Congress, and the bridge owners. The K & I Bridge connects Louisville, Kentucky to New Albany, Indiana. Constructed from 1881 to 1885 by the Kentucky and Indiana Bridge Company, the original K&I Bridge opened in 1886. It included a single standard gauge track and two wagon ways, allowing wagons and other animal powered vehicles to cross the Ohio River by a method other than ferry for the first time. At the time motorized vehicles were virtually nonexistent. The K&I Bridge company also owned a ferry boat operation during both the 1st and 2nd bridge; eventually that operation was sold as the bridge's success largely outmoded boat usage.

As with most American cities, transportation in Louisville, Kentucky is based primarily on automobiles. However, the city traces its foundation to the era where the river was the primary means of transportation, and railroads have been an important part of local industry for over a century. In more recent times Louisville has become a national hub for air cargo, creating over 20,000 local jobs. The city has also launched several initiatives to promote both utilitarian and recreational bicycling. In 2016 Walk Score ranked Louisville 43rd "most walkable" of 141 U.S. cities with a population greater than 200,000. In 2015, 11.7 percent of Louisville households were without a car, which decreased to 10.9 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Louisville averaged 1.61 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cairo Rail Bridge</span> Bridge in Kentucky and Cairo, Illinois

Cairo Rail Bridge is the name of two bridges crossing the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois in the United States. The original was an 1889 George S. Morison through-truss and deck truss bridge, replaced by the current bridge in 1952. The second and current bridge is a through-truss bridge that reused many of the original bridge piers. As of 2018, trains like the City of New Orleans travel over the Ohio River supported by the same piers whose construction began in 1887.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges</span> Twin-span cantilever bridge between Henderson, Kentucky, and Evansville, Indiana, USA

The Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Twin Bridges,, are located in Henderson County, Kentucky and connect Henderson, Kentucky, and Evansville, Indiana, along U.S. Route 41 (US 41), two miles (3.2 km) south of the current southern terminus of Interstate 69 (I-69). Because the bridges carry more than 40,000 vehicles a day across the Ohio River on average, and because the nearest alternate crossings over the Ohio River are more than 40 miles up or downstream, bottlenecks and congestion are frequent, and can be caused even by a stalled vehicle as neither bridge has shoulders, while an accident can cause travel time on the 5 mile stretch between Evansville and Henderson to take at least an hour. This problem is expected to be relieved by the planned construction of the Interstate 69 Ohio River Bridge, which is scheduled to begin sometime in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cityscape of Louisville, Kentucky</span>

Louisville, Kentucky is home to numerous structures that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations, the most noteworthy being the Old Louisville neighborhood, the third largest historic preservation district in the United States. The city also boasts the postmodern Humana Building and an expanding Waterfront Park which has served to remove the former industrial appearance of the riverfront.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardstown station</span> United States historic place

The Bardstown station, also known as Old L & N Station, is a historic railroad station on the National Register of Historic Places in the northernmost section of the Bardstown Historic District of Bardstown, Kentucky. Long owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N), it is currently used as the station for the My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, owned by the R.J. Corman Railroad Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Combine Car Number 665</span> United States historic place

The Louisville and Nashville Combine Car Number 665, also known as the "Jim Crow Car", is a historic railcar on the National Register of Historic Places, currently at the Kentucky Railway Museum at New Haven, Kentucky, in southernmost Nelson County, Kentucky.

The Frankfort and Cincinnati Model 55 Rail Car is a historic railcar on the National Register of Historic Places. The railcar currently resides at the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Nelson County, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Lincoln Bridge</span> Cable-stayed bridge carrying northbound I-65 across the Ohio River at Louisville

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge is a six-lane, single-deck cable-stayed bridge carrying northbound Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The main span is 700 feet (213 m) and the bridge has a total length of 2,100 feet (640 m). It is named after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky and grew up in Southern Indiana.

The Fink truss is a commonly used truss in residential homes and bridge architecture. It originated as a bridge truss although its current use in bridges is rare.

References

  1. Herr 2000, pp. 76–77.
  2. Herr 2000, p. 76.
  3. Herr 2000, pp. 252.
  4. Thurman 2008, pp. 12–14.