The High Bridge was finished and opened to the public February 20th, 1877 following about 20 years of on-off construction. It was originally designed as a suspension bridge by John Roebling, who was famous for designing the Brooklyn Bridge. Construction of the bridge began in the 1850s but was halted during the Civil War. At that time, only the towers used to hold the cables had built. Following the end of the war, the project was picked up by the Cincinnati Southern Railway, hoping to reconnect the South with the North, following the war’s aftermath. The bridge was re-designed by Charles Shaler Smith, changing it from a suspension bridge to a cantilever bridge. Due to this, it became the first cantilever bridge and the highest existing railroad bridge built in the USA. As a result of its qualifications, it became a big tourist attraction. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes, came to dedicate it. It has long been considered an engineering feat of the time, although it’s not as popular now as compared to the time of its creation. The railroad was strengthened in 1911 and double-tracked in 1929. Today the 275/308-foot tall and 1,125-foot long bridge is used to cross the Kentucky River and connects Jessamine County to Mercer County. Tourists are still able to visit the historic bridge to this very day.
~ Kelly Chen
Sources:
http://www.highbridgesprings.com/history/
http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife/600s/kylife620.html
http://www.historyorb.com/countries/usa/kentucky
http://frontierfolk.org/highbrky.htm
http://www.kyatlas.com/ky-high-bridge.html
~ Kelly Chen
Sources:
http://www.highbridgesprings.com/history/
http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife/600s/kylife620.html
http://www.historyorb.com/countries/usa/kentucky
http://frontierfolk.org/highbrky.htm
http://www.kyatlas.com/ky-high-bridge.html