Big Four Bridge Louisville KY
by Kathy K McClellan
Title
Big Four Bridge Louisville KY
Artist
Kathy K McClellan
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Big Four Bridge Louisville KY is a photograph by Kathy K. McClellan in Louisville, Kentucky (USA) looking north towards Jeffersonville, Indiana.
In 1887 in Jeffersonville, Indiana the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company was formed. Construction on a bridge across the Ohio River to connect the two cities was started in October of 1888 but not completed until 1895.
The bridge company was financially strapped upon completion of the bridge and sold it to the Indianapolis-based Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad. That's how the bridge came to be called the Big Four Bridge.
During construction thirty seven men died in three separate accidents, the last being one of the biggest bridge disasters in the United States (1893). In 1918 two interurbans collided on the bridge. That accident killed three and injured twenty.
As rail weight increased the bridge was rebuilt on the same piers in 1929.
In 1968 the bridge's parent company the New York Central Railroad merged into the Penn Central. The Big Four Bridge traffic was rerouted to the Fourteenth Street Bridge and it's approach spans were removed and sold for scrap.
The bridge remained closed for years until May 2014. New entrance ramps were built on either side of the river once again connecting the two cities with the Big Four Bridge but this time as a crossing for pedestrians and bicycles instead of rail cars. Both cities have parks at the base of the approach ramps with family oriented activities.
This image has been featured in the following FAA/Pixels groups:
Showcasing The South 09/20/2021
Uploaded
June 28th, 2021
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Viewed 123 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/22/2024 at 2:20 AM
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