Breaking the Mold: The Kentucky River High Bridge

This article describes the history of the Kentucky River High Bridge, the first modern cantilever bridge in the U.S. The bridge was chartered in the early 1850s and was originally designed by John A. Roebling as a single-span suspension bridge. The project, however, quickly mounted in costs and, because of a bankruptcy of the supporting railroad company, Roebling was left without funding. It was only after the Civil War during the Reconstruction period that the project finally received funding as a way to initiate more trade routes between the Southern and Northern states. Completed in 1877, the cantilever bridge was designed by Charles Shaler Smith, featuring a three-span continuous truss. The bridge serviced railway traffic until 1911 when it was replaced by a new bridge that could sustain heavier loads.