By Kyle Staubs
Last Friday, May 13th was the 40th Anniversary of the first dedication of the New River Gorge Bridge while it was being constructed (the final dedicated occurred on October 22, 1977, the day the bridge was opened to the public). Construction on the bridge began in June of 1974. Designed by Michael Baker Company with the direction of Chief Engineer Clarence V. Knudsen and by the U.S. Steel’s American Bridge Division, the New River Gorge Bridge is made from COR-TEN steel and cost $37 million to complete.
At that time of its completion, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world's longest single-span arch bridge. The bridge was also the largest project ever coordinated by the West Virginia Department of Highways. Today, the bridge is the third longest in the world and the third highest bridge in the United States. The bridge is 3,030 feet long and 69.3 feet wide with four lanes and a center divider. Statistics show that the regular traffic on the bridge is 16,200 vehicles per day.
Since the creation of the bridge and the establishment of the New River Gorge National River, it has drawn tens of thousands of tourists to the area to appreciate its natural beauty and recreational opportunities. A steel catwalk runs the full length of the bridge under the roadway which is open to the public for "Bridge Walk” tours. There is also the Bridge Day festival, which is held the third Saturday of every October during which demonstrations of rappelling, ascending, and BASE jumping take place.
One year after the bridge was completed in 1978, Senator Byrd led the effort in establishing the New River Gorge as a national river. The senator devoted much attention to securing appropriations for many visitor facilities and recreational amenities up and down the river, including the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, dedicated in 1991. For Senator Byrd, the New River Gorge’s natural beauty contributed to his larger strategy to make tourism a strong economic force in state of West Virginia.