An Engineering Landmark

An Engineering Landmark. . The bridge you see dates to 1929 but its story begins much earlier, when merchants in Lexington and Cincinnati began to demand a direct route to Southern markets, one that did not necessitate shipping goods by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The deep gorge of the Kentucky River, however, presented a formidable barrier to a rail line. In 1854, the Lexington and Danville Railroad hired noted engineer John A. Roebling to bridge the Kentucky. Only the massive stone towers for Roebling's suspension bridge were complete when the railroad failed in 1858., Almost twenty years later, the Cincinnati Southern Railroad initiated another, successful, effort to construct a bridge. This bridge did not use Roebling's towers. Charles Shaler Smith, chief engineer for the Baltimore Bridge Company, designed and built a cantilever bridge – the first in North America. When opened in 1877, the bridge 275 feet above the river was the highest bridge in North America. The 1,125-foot bridge was also the longest cantilever bridge and the highest railroad bridge in the world. Scores of people traveled to see the engineering marvel known as High Bridge. Special excursion trains ran to the bridge overlook. By 1879, promotors had built a pavilion, restaurant, picnic grounds and riding stable on this site. High Bridge Park became the center of social and cultural life in Jessamine County., In 1911, High Bridge was rebuilt and strengthened to withstand a dead load of seven tons per linear foot. The American Bridge Company built the improved bridge around the existing bridge with no loss of service. Roebling's beautifully crafted stone towers stood until High Bridge was double tracked in 1929., [Captions (counterclockwise from top right)] , . High Bridge as it appeared in 1906. , . The ferry at High Bridge. , . Top: The bases of Roebling's towers are still visible. Roebling later built New York's Brooklyn Bridge and the suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River at Cincinnati. , . Middle: Rebuilding High Bridge, ca. 1910. The American Society of Civil Engineers declared High Bridge a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986. , . Bottom: 271 steps once led from High Bridge Park to the river below. They were destroyed in 1948 when railroad workers clearing brush accidentally set them on fire. , . Passengers disembark from an excursion train at High Bridge.