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Big Four Bridge
The Big Four Bridge is a six-span truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was completed in 1895 and rebuilt in 1929. It was taken out of rail service in 1968, and the original approaches that carried rail traffic onto the main spans were first removed in 1974–1975, earning the Big Four Bridge the nickname "Bridge That Goes Nowhere". It was converted to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2013. The largest single span is 547 feet (167 m); the entire bridge spans 2,525 feet (770 m). It took its name from the defunct Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, which was nicknamed the "Big Four Railroad".
The Big Four Bridge is a six-span bridge, totaling 2,525 feet (770 m) long, with a clearance of 53 feet (16 m). The northernmost span is a riveted, eight-panel Parker through truss. The next three spans are 547 feet (167 m) long, and are riveted, 16-panel Pennsylvania through trusses. The two southern spans are riveted, 10-panel Parker through trusses.
It originally carried a single track of railway. Today, access to the Big Four Bridge is limited to pedestrian and bicycle use.
The Big Four Bridge was first conceived in Jeffersonville in 1885 by various city interests. The Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company was formed in 1887 to construct the Big Four Bridge, after a charter by the state of Indiana; Kentucky also chartered the company in 1888. The riverboat industry, a big economic factor in Jeffersonville, had requested that the bridge be built further upstream from the Falls of the Ohio, but the United States Army Corps of Engineers approved the building site, even after vocal protests.
Construction began on October 10, 1888. The Big Four Bridge would be the only Louisville bridge with serious accidents during its building; 37 individuals died during its construction. The first 14 died on January 9, 1890, at 5:40 PM while working on Pier Number 5 foundation when a caisson that was supposed to hold back the river water flooded, drowning the workers. Another six men died a few months later on May 14, 1890, at 5:10 PM when a wooden beam broke while working on a different pier, Pier Number 4 caisson.
The Big Four Bridge had one of the biggest bridge disasters in the United States, occurring on December 15, 1893, at 10:20 AM when a construction crane was dislodged by a severe wind, causing the falsework support of a truss to be damaged and the truss—with forty-one workers on it—to fall into the Ohio River. Twenty of the workers survived, but 21 died. The accident almost cost more lives, as a ferry crossing the Ohio River just barely missed being hit by the truss. Hours later, a span next to the damaged span also fell into the river, but was unoccupied at the time, causing no injuries. As a result, falsework was longitudely reinforced to prevent further occurrences, and also to prevent strong winds from causing similar damage by using special bracing on the bottom frame of the truss. Also, a new rule was enforced: "never trust a bolted joint any longer than is necessary to put a riveted one in place".
The Big Four Bridge was finally completed in September 1895. Due to the various accidents, the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company was financially strapped after building the bridge, and later in 1895 sold it to the Indianapolis-based Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad. This gave the railway its first entry into the Louisville market, although the railroad would have likely used the bridge even if they had not bought it, as they desired access to Louisville.
One effect of the opening of the Big Four Bridge was increased transportation of freight by rail, significantly decreasing the number of packet boats that at one time crossed the Ohio River by the dozens.
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Big Four Bridge
The Big Four Bridge is a six-span truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was completed in 1895 and rebuilt in 1929. It was taken out of rail service in 1968, and the original approaches that carried rail traffic onto the main spans were first removed in 1974–1975, earning the Big Four Bridge the nickname "Bridge That Goes Nowhere". It was converted to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2013. The largest single span is 547 feet (167 m); the entire bridge spans 2,525 feet (770 m). It took its name from the defunct Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, which was nicknamed the "Big Four Railroad".
The Big Four Bridge is a six-span bridge, totaling 2,525 feet (770 m) long, with a clearance of 53 feet (16 m). The northernmost span is a riveted, eight-panel Parker through truss. The next three spans are 547 feet (167 m) long, and are riveted, 16-panel Pennsylvania through trusses. The two southern spans are riveted, 10-panel Parker through trusses.
It originally carried a single track of railway. Today, access to the Big Four Bridge is limited to pedestrian and bicycle use.
The Big Four Bridge was first conceived in Jeffersonville in 1885 by various city interests. The Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company was formed in 1887 to construct the Big Four Bridge, after a charter by the state of Indiana; Kentucky also chartered the company in 1888. The riverboat industry, a big economic factor in Jeffersonville, had requested that the bridge be built further upstream from the Falls of the Ohio, but the United States Army Corps of Engineers approved the building site, even after vocal protests.
Construction began on October 10, 1888. The Big Four Bridge would be the only Louisville bridge with serious accidents during its building; 37 individuals died during its construction. The first 14 died on January 9, 1890, at 5:40 PM while working on Pier Number 5 foundation when a caisson that was supposed to hold back the river water flooded, drowning the workers. Another six men died a few months later on May 14, 1890, at 5:10 PM when a wooden beam broke while working on a different pier, Pier Number 4 caisson.
The Big Four Bridge had one of the biggest bridge disasters in the United States, occurring on December 15, 1893, at 10:20 AM when a construction crane was dislodged by a severe wind, causing the falsework support of a truss to be damaged and the truss—with forty-one workers on it—to fall into the Ohio River. Twenty of the workers survived, but 21 died. The accident almost cost more lives, as a ferry crossing the Ohio River just barely missed being hit by the truss. Hours later, a span next to the damaged span also fell into the river, but was unoccupied at the time, causing no injuries. As a result, falsework was longitudely reinforced to prevent further occurrences, and also to prevent strong winds from causing similar damage by using special bracing on the bottom frame of the truss. Also, a new rule was enforced: "never trust a bolted joint any longer than is necessary to put a riveted one in place".
The Big Four Bridge was finally completed in September 1895. Due to the various accidents, the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company was financially strapped after building the bridge, and later in 1895 sold it to the Indianapolis-based Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad. This gave the railway its first entry into the Louisville market, although the railroad would have likely used the bridge even if they had not bought it, as they desired access to Louisville.
One effect of the opening of the Big Four Bridge was increased transportation of freight by rail, significantly decreasing the number of packet boats that at one time crossed the Ohio River by the dozens.