Interstate 470 Bridge


The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge is a four-lane tied arch bridge in the United States. It carries Interstate 470 over the Ohio River between Bellaire, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia.

History

Construction on the tied-arch bridge began in 1975, and was scheduled to be completed by 1981. Construction was not completed on time due to the Ohio Department of Transportation's delays on Ohio State Route 7 along the western shores of the river. The estimated cost to construct the span was about $54 million. During construction of the span it was dubbed the "bridge to nowhere" as the bridge did not connect to the Ohio segment of I-470. In 1981, frays in the vertical hanger cables delayed the opening of the bridge, which was scheduled to open in July 1981.
The opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, along with another bridge in nearby Moundsville was thought to have reduced the amount of traffic, and thus tolls collected by the nearby Bellaire Bridge by up to 50 percent in 1987.