The Coolville Bridge

The Coolville Bridge. , Two bridges previously spanned the Hocking River at this location, to carry State Route 144 traffic, connecting the Village of Coolville to the railroad at Coolville Station on the east side. , The first bridge was a wooden covered bridge built in 1840. It was an unusual double-wide design for two lanes of traffic. The bridge was constructed adjacent to the mill and dam built by village founder Asahel Cooley in 1815. After 90 years of service, the need for better highways and stronger bridges led to its replacement in 1930. , The second bridge, shown above, was a reinforced concrete open spandrel rib arch bridge designed by D.H. Overman and C.P. Smith of the Ohio Department of Highway’s Bureau of Bridges. The Coolville Bridge reflected Art Deco and Art Modern design elements such as the repetitive rectangular segments of the balustrade and the curved stylistic projections on the bridge supports. The design coincided with the period’s “City Beautiful Movement” where aesthetic improvements were incorporated to combat negative aspects of industrialization. The five-span 345 foot long bridge remained a prominent centerpiece of the Hocking River Valley until 2006. , Serious flooding and landslides in January, 2005 critically damaged State Route 144 on the east side of the river, forcing its relocation to the current alignment.