Blaine in Belmont County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Blaine Hill "S" Bridge
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Blaine Hill Viaduct

Blaine Hill "S" Bridge Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Terri Beitzel, October 17, 2008

1. Blaine Hill "S" Bridge Marker

Inscription. Blaine Hill "S" Bridge The first Blaine Hill Bridge was constructed in 1828 as part of the National Road, the nation's first federally funded highway. This three-arch S-shaped structure, 345 feet in length, spans Wheeling Creek (a tributary of the Ohio River) and is the longest original "S" bridge in existence on the old National Road. At a gradient of approximately 6.3 percent from east to west, it significantly eased, for the first time, the arduous 500-foot western climb out of the valley. Crumbling and in poor condition, it was saved from demolition in 1999 and in 2001 was designated Ohio's official Bicentennial Bridge. Now tucked between the 1933 U.S. 40 viaduct and Interstate 70, it illustrates the earliest of Ohio's three eras in national highway transportation.
Blaine Hill Viaduct The current Blaine Hill Viaduct was built in 1933. It overlooks the 1828 "S" bridge, which could no longer handle increasing automobile traffic on the National Road, averaging 2,700 vehicles daily. Determined that this pioneer artery of transportation continue its contribution to national progress, a citizen's group called the National

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Highway Improvement Association led the way in the building of this concrete and steel viaduct. Named the Arches of Memory, it was dedicated to Belmont County's World War I Veterans. The opening of Interstate 70 in 1964 diverted most of the traffic flow from this bridge. It continues to carry traffic along the historic National Road (U.S. 40), designated an All-American Road in 2002. It represents the middle generation in this view, which encompasses three eras of highway travel in Ohio.

Erected 2003 by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, Belmont County Tourism Council, Blaine Bridge Community Preservation Project, Inc. and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 11-7.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection, and the The Historic National Road series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1828.

Location. 40° 4.015′ N, 80° 49.214′ W. Marker is in Blaine, Ohio, in Belmont County. It is on Pasko Road west of Barton-Blaine Road. Touch for map. Marker

Blaine Hill Viaduct Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Terri Beitzel, October 17, 2008

2. Blaine Hill Viaduct Marker

is in this post office area: Blaine OH 43909, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s High Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Welcome The 1828 Historical "S" Blaine Bridge (here, next to this marker); Lansing (Scott) Cemetery (approx. 1.6 miles away); Lansing Community War Memorial (approx. 1.7 miles away); The Tragedy Of Willow Grove No. 10 (approx. 2.2 miles away); Willow Grove Mine was toured by Eleanor Roosevelt (approx. 2.2 miles away); Sacred Heart Catholic Church Bell (approx. 2.2 miles away); Willow Grove Mine (approx. 2.2 miles away); Ohio Department of Natural Resources 75th Anniversary (approx. 2.2 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Blaine Hill S Bridge.

Blaine Hill "S" Bridge and Blaine Hill Viaduct image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, September 22, 2007

3. Blaine Hill "S" Bridge and Blaine Hill Viaduct

The marker can be seen to the left in this photograph.

Historic Bridges website entry (Submitted on September 8, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

2. S-Bridge. Society of Architectural Historians website entry (Submitted on September 8, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 2, 2014

4. Blaine Hill "S" Bridge Marker

Looking west across the bridge

The two Blaine Hill bridges image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, September 22, 2007

5. The two Blaine Hill bridges

View across the bridge, looking west. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, September 22, 2007

6. View across the bridge, looking west.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 18, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,814 times since then and 68 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 18, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia. 3. submitted on October 18, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 4. submitted on November 2, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 5, 6. submitted on October 18, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Blaine Hill "S" Bridge⎯⎯⎯Blaine Hill Viaduct

Blaine Hill "S" Bridge
⎯⎯⎯
Blaine Hill Viaduct