Bridging a great divide

Today there are many bridges spanning the Ohio River between Ohio and her bordering neighbors. But perhaps the most spectacular of these bridges is one of the oldest, dating to the 1860s, crossing the Ohio at Cincinnati (see left, click to enlarge). Its designer is an American icon who became famous for his creation after this magnificent span between Covington and Cincinnati. John Roebling (bio, bridge wiki) earned his place in history for designing a landmark bridge, the iconic Brooklyn Bridge (bridge history with photos), over the East River in New York City.

The engineering marvel, now-named John A. Roebling Bridge (click for bridge specs), took decades to complete, from concept to design to construction. There was only one bridge crossing the Ohio prior to the "Suspension Bridge" (as Cincy locals called it then), it was at Wheeling, WV and was designed by bridge-design rival Charles Ellet. Roebling and Ellet had competing designs for the Wheeling project, but Roebling won out in Cincinnati.

One of the chief factors in the snail's pace for the construction of the bridge was economic competition. Ferry boat owners feared loss in revenue from a bridge undercutting their business. Until the 1960s, there was a toll to cross the bridge. Originally in the 1860s, a horse and buggy would be charged 15 cents. By 1960 though a pedestrian crossing the bridge saw a drop in the surcharge down to 1-cent. According to an historic edition of the Cincinnati Post, a grand total of $13.46 was collected for pedestrian traffic on a September day in 1959.

Political fears also carried weight in the construction delay, as the slave-holding Kentuckians feared a land-bridge to the free-soil Ohio might embolden escape attempts. The historical impact of slavery is still felt in modern time with the Roebling Bridge. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which opened in 2004, poignantly and symbolically was built near the base of the bridge in downtown Cincinnati. Tour guides often begin on the second or third floor of the museum, which offers panoramic and stunning views of the bridge and river, with tales of the bridge and slavery.

Unfortunately some of these guides share mythology of the bridge that isn't true. One guide shared that Ellet had originally been chosen to design the bridge, but was jettisoned after his bridge at Wheeling collapsed. While the Wheeling bridge did collapse during construction from a windstorm, no evidence exists that Ellet was originally chosen to design the span at Cincinnati. Additionally, the guide said the bridge was finished prior to the end of the Civil War, but they refused to open the bridge to traffic until after the war for fear of a mad rush of slaves bolting to freedom. Also false, the bridge's wires weren't even laid until the war had ended. Indeed, the war slowed down the construction efforts.

Regardless of the mythology, the bridge is a testament to the brilliant engineering minds of the time. While the decking was made cheaply, primary due to lack of materials in a war-torn economy, and rebuilt at the dawn of the 20th Century, the stone pillars were constructed to carry weights beyond anything imagineable in the day (see right, click to enlarge). The bridge has withstood many floods, small and large, and remained the only bridge spanning the Ohio River to remain open during the great 1937 flood (photo link). Even recent flooding in the late 1990s (photo link) never crested nor damaged the bridge.

But with progress poverty cannot be escaped. Hidden to the rush of cars speeding along the bridge is an encampment along the Ohio side of the river that can only be seen walking the bridge. About a dozen little makeshift tents, of cardboard, wood or Pick-up truck tarps, can be seen in a little homeless camp (see left, click to enlarge). Invisible to both the occupants of hi-rise office towers and the sight-seeing public on riverboat cruises, life goes on for those who have no place to call their own. An attempt by police to sweep the riverfront in the name of public safety was recently thwarted as an attack against homeless.

Today one can walk the bridge between Covington and Cincinnati, crossing between the two business districts in less time than watching a rerun of an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati (view pilot episode), which incidently did show a glimpse of the bridge in its opening credits. There is ample space at each of the two massive stone pillars to gawk (see left, click to enlarge) at the ability to build such a marvel at a time when steam powered machines were in their formative years.

Today both Covington and Cincinnati's skylines continue to grow outward and upward. New professional sports venues skirt the river and more new construction is evident near the bridge base in Cincinnati. I'm sure Roebling would not be surprised to see his structure still standing and that Cincinnati would be a major city in America (at the time it was being built it was among the nation's top 10 in population). But he might be pleasantly surprised at the other architectural structures around the Queen City and across his bridge into Kentucky. But will they still impress 145 years in the future?

- J.