Silver Bridge

Silver Bridge was a suspension bridge spanning about 681 meters across the Ohio River between West Virginia and Ohio. The structure used eyebar chains made of thick, bone-shaped steel bars connected by large pins that supported a roadway with two traffic lanes.

The American Bridge Company built the structure in 1928 using a new chain design made of heat-treated steel instead of conventional wire cables. A tiny crack in one eyebar caused the sudden collapse in December 1967, leading to the opening of a replacement bridge with cantilever architecture in 1969.

The bridge took its name from the silvery aluminum paint coating that made it stand out to engineers and travelers passing through. It represented a modern, practical design of its era that efficiently connected communities on opposite riverbanks.

A small memorial plaque near the riverbank marks the original site and informs visitors about its engineering significance. A nearby museum displays a scale model and a chain segment recovered from the former structure.

Investigations after 1967 revealed that corrosion from road salt during winter accelerated crack growth, even though this was routine practice at the time. The incident led to the creation of the National Bridge Inspection Program, which requires regular safety checks for all major bridges.

Location: West Virginia

Official opening: May 30, 1928

Length: 681 m

GPS coordinates: 38.84500,-82.14111

Latest update: December 8, 2025 08:20