![]() ![]() The bridge is a continuous-span, open-spandrel, arch truss bridge constructed of steel. The overall length of the bridge is 3,030 feet, 6 inches (measured from center-to-center of end bearings) and the arch, the longest steel arch in the United States2, measures 1,700 feet. A rail line runs along each side of the river at the bottom of the gorge while Fayette Station Road (State Route 82) winds its way down the steep terrain and under the bridge on both the north and south sides. Route 19 across the deep gorge of the New River which runs 876 feet below. The bridge is situated in the northern section of the 53-mile long New River Gorge National Park and Preserve – a unit of the National Park Service – and is surrounded by lush Appalachian Mountain forest. The New River Gorge Bridge is located in a once remote area of West Virginia just north of Fayetteville in Fayette County, West Virginia. The engineers and ironworkers overcame major obstacles due to its enormous scale and the then-remote Appalachian location. Though the bridge itself employs a fairly conventional design, its construction represents a number of construction achievements. It is currently the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the United States and the third highest bridge in the country. At time of construction, the New River Gorge Bridge's arch made it the longest steel arch bridge in the world, a title it held until 2003 with the construction of China’s Shanghai’s Lupu Bridge. ![]()
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