The Silver Bridge Collapse Recounted

Abstract

The bridge spanning the Ohio River between Point Pleasant, W. Va., and Gallipolis, Ohio, known as the Silver Bridge, was designed and built during 1927–28. It was the first eyebar suspension bridge in the United States, and it received much attention for making engineering history. After some 40 years of service, the bridge collapsed without warning on December 15, 1967 during the evening rush hour, when the bridge was crowded with heavy traffic. The collapse resulted in the loss of 46 lives and nine injuries. A thorough investigation revealed that the collapse of the bridge was caused by the failure of the north eyebar of the north chain at the first panel point west of the Ohio tower. The eyebar had developed a cleavage failure at the lower position of its head. The tragedy of this bridge failure led to the approval of the 1968 National Bridge Inspection Standards by the U.S. Congress.