New River Gorge Bridge
National Register of Historic Places

New River Gorge Bridge

Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Virginia
Listed
August 13, 2013
Type
Structure
Period
Pre Contact
Ref No.
13000603

About this property

The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge 3,030 feet (924 m) long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch 1,700 feet (518 m) long, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world's longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years; it is now the seventh longest and the longest outside of China. Part of U.S. Route 19, its construction marked the completion of Corridor L of the Appalachian Development Highway System. An average of 16,200 motor vehicles cross the bridge each day. The roadway of the New River Gorge Bridge is 876 feet (267 m) above the New River, making the bridge one of the highest vehicular bridges in the world; it is the third highest in the United States. When completed in 1977, it was the world's highest bridge carrying a regular roadway, a title it held until the 2001 opening of the Liuguanghe Bridge in China. Because of its height, the bridge has attracted daredevils since its construction. It is now the centerpiece of the annual "Bridge Day", during which hundreds of people, with appropriate equipment, are permitted to climb on or jump from the bridge. In 2005, the structure gained additional attention when the U.S. Mint issued the West Virginia state quarter with the bridge depicted on one side. In 2013, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Location

Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Virginia
38.07064, -81.08242

Categories

ENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATION
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Hawkins, E. B., House
Listed
1.5 mi
Altamont Hotel
Industrial
1.6 mi
Fayette County Courthouse
Industrial
1.6 mi
Fayetteville Historic District
Listed
1.7 mi
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building
Industrial
1.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was New River Gorge Bridge listed on the National Register?

New River Gorge Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 13, 2013.

What type of historic resource is New River Gorge Bridge?

New River Gorge Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for New River Gorge Bridge?

The period of significance for New River Gorge Bridge is recorded as the pre_contact era, specifically around 924.

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