Silver Memorial Bridge
Coordinates: 38 ° 50 ′ 4 " N , 82 ° 8 ′ 51" W.
| Silver Memorial Bridge | ||
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| use | US Highway 35 | |
| Crossing of | Ohio River | |
| place | Gallipolis ( Ohio ) - Henderson ( West Virginia ) | |
| overall length | 599 m | |
| width | 18 m | |
| vehicles per day | 25,500 (2007) | |
| start of building | 1968 | |
| completion | 1969 | |
| opening | 15th December 1969 | |
| planner | E. Lionel Pavlo | |
| location | ||
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| Above sea level | 164 m | |
The Silver Memorial Bridge is a road bridge over the Ohio River and connects the two places Gallipolis in Ohio and Henderson in West Virginia . The approximately 600-meter-long bridge is made of tanner girder construction and replaced the Silver Bridge , which had collapsed two years earlier and was located approximately 1.5 kilometers upstream, in 1969 . Today US Highway 35 crosses the four-lane bridge, which is used by around 25,000 cars a day.
After the collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967, in which 46 people died, the then President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a nationwide review of all federally built or operated bridges. He also announced on February 8, 1968 the construction of the Silver Memorial Bridge, which was to replace the collapsed bridge. Construction was completed in 1969 and opened on December 15, 1969, exactly two years after the old bridge collapsed.