18 WHEELS OF STEEL TORRENTS

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the main channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was opened in 1851. It was designed by Charles Ellet Jr., who also worked on the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.

The initial competition to build the bridge included Charles Ellet and John A. Roebling.[2]

In 1854, a strong windstorm destroyed the deck of the bridge. Ellet rebuilt it, followed by improvements in 1859 by Ellett's partner William McComas, and in 1874 by William Hildenbrand. In the early 1980, the West Virginia Department of Highways restored the bridge.[2]. The bridge remains in active service.

The bridge spans a distance of 1,010 feet (308 m) across the Ohio River and allows barges to pass underneath. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the United States still in use and is listed as both a National Historic Landmark and Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The bridge was designed prior to the advent of the automobile. At the time of construction, a horse and buggy was the heaviest live load that would be expected. Currently, the bridge has a (per vehicle) weight limit of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) making it unsuitable for trucks, buses, or other heavy vehicles.[3]

Traffic is advised to keep at least 50 feet (15 m) between vehicles. Additionally, traffic lights at both ends only allow a certain number of cars onto the bridge at one time.

A view of the flyer assembly, showing the orifice (the hole through which the yarn is guided), which is holding lace-weight alpaca singles of about 44 wraps per inch. (The gorgeous dark-chocolate alpaca fiber was bought from River Bend Alpacas in upstate New York. Hand cards were used to remove the vegetable matter.) I love the turnings on this wheel's maidens.