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Silver Bridge disaster
The Silver Bridge was an eyebar-chain suspension bridge built in 1928 which carried U.S. Route 35 over the Ohio River, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed amid heavy rush-hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people, two of whom were never found.
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About the Collapse
On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed amid heavy rush-hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people, two of whom were never found. Investigation of the wreckage soon pointed to the failure of a single eye bar in one of the suspension chains as the primary cause — a finding noted in a preliminary report released within 10 months of the collapse.
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Recovery
The recovery of the bodies was painfully slow. It would be almost six months after the collapse of the bridge when the last known body was recovered, found by fishermen downriver. It was finally determined that forty-six people had been killed in the tragedy. Two victims were never recovered.
20 seconds
At 5 p.m. on December 15, 1967, eyewitnesses recall, there was a loud gunshot-like noise and, “folding like a deck of cards” in less than 20 seconds, the entire 1460-foot suspended portion of the Silver Bridge collapsed into the river, taking with it 32 vehicles and 46 victims, including two whose bodies were never found.
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Twin Bridge
The Silver Bridge had a twin bridge upstream on the Ohio River, built by the same contractor and engineer and to the same design. This bridge from St. Marys, West Virginia, to Newport, Ohio, opened to traffic a few months after the Silver Bridge, on October 25, 1928. It was closed immediately after the collapse of the Silver Bridge, initially replaced by ferry service and later by a new bridge. The 1928 St. Marys bridge was demolished in 1971,except for a non-suspension truss access span which carries visitors to Middle Island, a part of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
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Mothman
The Silver Bridge disaster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1967 is associated with the Mothman, a legendary winged creature. The Mothman was said to have been seen near the bridge before it collapsed, leading some to believe the creature caused the disaster.
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