The Silver Bridge Disaster of 1967

Images of America: West Virginia

by Stephan G. Bullard, Bridget J. Gromek, Martha Fout

Point Pleasants Silver Bridge, the first eyebar suspension bridge in the United States, was an engineering marvel when it was constructed in 1927 and 1928. Located on US Highway 35, the bridge spanned the Ohio River and linked Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with the towns of Kanauga and Gallipolis, Ohio. For almost 40 years, the structure provided dependable service for travelers in the region. On December 15, 1967, this service came to a dramatic and disastrous end. At 4:58 p.m., during the height of rush hour, the bridge suddenly collapsed. Rescue and recovery operations started immediately but were hampered by poor weather conditions and freezing rain. The cause of the collapse was linked to the bridges innovative design. Undetected corrosion stress cracks caused an eyebar on the Ohio side to fracture; because the eyebars were linked together in a chain, the failure of one led to the catastrophic collapse of the entire bridge. In total, 46 lives were lost in the disaster.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read and tribute to those who lost their lives. I've previously read the NTSB report (available for free download on their website - report #HAR7101 if you want the technical information on the collapse and investigation), and this book draws on information from that. The book also includes a multitude of detailed photographs and quotes from eye witnesses and family members of the victims, and from survivors. All up, a very informative read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those not familiar with this tragedy, the 45th anniversary is coming up on December 15th. This is a nice history that provides information about the bridge, what happened, who was in the accident (survivors, as well as those who lost their lives) and "after". Most of the pictures are from the Ohio side of the river, but that is only right since that is where the problem originated.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The deadliest bridge disaster in American history happened in a place many people have never heard of, and yet 56 years later the lessons of that disaster are beyond relevant to this day. Out of the "Images of America" series for West Virginia comes "The Silver Bridge Disaster of 1967" written by Stephan G. Bullard, Bridget J. Gromek, Martha & Ruth Fout along with the Point Pleasant River Museum which recounts the events of December 15, 1967, when this bridge that is a vital route between Columbus, Ohio and Charleston, West Virginia came plunging down into the Ohio River at rush hour killing 46 people. The cause of the disaster would eventually be determined to be the failure of eyebolt 330 which sadly due to the design of the bridge would've never been caught simply due to the design of the bridge & where the failure occurred. The book itself is heartbreaking and sadly is also far too relevant today with the issues our nation has with infrastructure. For anyone with an interest in bridge disasters or even disasters of things that collapse this book which forever linked Point Pleasant & Gallipolis together in tragedy is one that we can all learn from & remember those 47 victims as the authors do so brilliantly.

[Shawn Loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Information Regarding the Disaster

I have always wondered about the cause of this bridge collapse and now I know in great detail. Here's a hint, it wasn't the fault of the Mothman.

[Karen April Vantangoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bridge too sad.

This book does a decent job at explaining an unfortunate and sad situation. The pictures are chilling. The victim photos are especially eerie.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is mostly photos with fairly extensive captions. Each chapter has a brief summary at the beginning but details are provided in the picture/caption format.

[Wayne Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary

It was an incredibly quick read since much of the book is pictures with extensive captions. I read the book cover-to-cover in well under 2 hours.


Bridge Construction

This book started by providing a history of the construction of the bridge in 1927-28 and the fact that it was one of only three bridges ever built that used the eyebar design structure. It was this design that was responsible for the collapse of the Silver Bridge.


Dispelling Rumors and Stories

The bridge collapsed on December 15, 1967, during my senior year at G.A.H.S. I was only 17 years old at the time and my mind was in my last year of high school, girls, partying, and going to college. This was a major event but I was not an adult at the time so I listened to the adult stories about it. This was in the socially backward southern Ohio so many of the rumors about it were completely unfounded.

I left for Ohio State the next fall while the investigation into the collapse was underway and long before the final analysis was complete. Therefore, I never really knew many of the details that are presented in this book. Even though this book was not professionally written, it did shed a lot of light on what happened. It was good to finally be able to read the truthful accounts of perhaps the most important disaster ever to befall the Gallipolis area.

[Mae Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking for a book for some time that takes an in depth look at the Silver Bridge disaster of 1967 and this recounting did not disappoint. Especially heart wrenching are the stories of the victims and also the survivors. The detailed look at the bridge, it's construction and why it collapsed was riveting. Loaded with photos both before and after, this is compelling read I highly recommend.