Bridge clearance.

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

I have two questions relating to the Ohio River above Parkersburg, W. Va. particularly in the vicinity of New Martinsville.

Question No 1: What clearance above mean water level would the Corps of Engineers have required for any bridge spanning this stretch of river that would have been completed in about 1925? and are the banks here so low as to necessitate the construction of some kind of a moveable span?

Question No 2: There are numerous dams and locks along this stretch of river; I know that the size of each lock is going to vary based upon a variety of factors but what would be a reasonable figure for the drop through these locks?

2

There is no minimum clearance required above mean high water level for a moveable bridge in the closed position. The six moveable bridges currently in service on the Ohio have clearances ranging from 0 to 30 feet. When I get home tonight I’ll look up the numbers for the fixed bridges in the USCG’s Bridges over Navigable Waters.

RWM

3

Railway Man, that’s the info I’m looking for! Thank you!

4

…Paul Simon’s unrecorded sequel to Bridge over Troubled Waters.

Sorry, sorry. Lost my head for a minute there…[banghead]

5

This list is from 1927, upriver to down: location, owner, and clearance above high water:

  1. Brunots Island, Pittsburgh, PRR, 49.6
  2. Neville Island (back channel), Allegheny County, 12.5
  3. Neville Island (back channel), P&LE, -4.3
  4. Coraopolis, Neville Island (back channel), Allegheny County, 1.5
  5. Coraopolis, Neville Island (bach channel), Allegheny County, 19.6
  6. Sewickley, Pa., Allegheny County, 47.7
  7. Ambridge, Pa., Beaver County, 47
  8. Rochester, Pa., Beaver County, 45.6
  9. Beaver, Pa., P&LE, 44.6
  10. East Liverpool, Ohio, East Liverpool Bridge Co., 41.8
  11. East Liverpool, Ohio, Newell Bridge Co., 47
  12. Steubenville, Ohio, PRR, 40.8
  13. Steubenville, Ohio, Steubenville Bridge Co., 46.4
  14. Steubenville, Ohio, Wheeling Steel Corp., 42.4
  15. Mingo Jct., Ohio, P&WV, 40.9
  16. Martins Ferry, Ohio, Wheeling Terminal Railway, 40.1
  17. Aetnaville, Ohio, Wheeling Bridge Co., none listed
  18. Bridgeport, Ohio, Wheeling & Belmont Bridge Co., none listed
  19. 10th Street, Wheeling, W.Va., Wheeling & Belmont Bridge Co., 40.3
  20. 10-1/2 Street, Wheeling, W.Va., Wheeling Bridge Co., 39.5
  21. Bellaire, Ohio, Interstate Bridge Co., 40
  22. Bellaire, Ohio, B&O, 37.8
  23. Marietta, Ohio, O.R. Bridge & Ferry Co., 37.5
  24. Parkersburg, W.Va., B&O, 31.7
  25. Parkersburg, W.Va., Parkersburg & Ohio Bridge Co., 31.7
  26. Point Pleasant, W.Va., NYC, 29.3
  27. Huntington, W.Va., Huntington & Ohio Bridge Co., 40
  28. Kenova, W.Va., N&W, 35.6
  29. Ironton, Ohio, Ironton & Russell Bridge Co., 40
  30. Sciotoville, Ohio, C&O, 40.6
  31. Portsmouth, Ohio, Fullerton & Portsmouth Bridge Co., 40
  32. Cincinnati, Ohio, L&N, 32.9
  33. Cincinnati, Ohio, Broadway & Newport Bridge Co., 39.1
  34. Cincinnati, Ohio, Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Co., 32.8
  35. Cincinnati, Ohio, C&O, 36.9
  36. Cincinnati, Ohio, CNO&TP, 34<
6

Hi RWM,

Just curious, was “3. Neville Island (back channel), P&LE, -4.3” a typo, or is the bottom of that bridge 4.3 feet under water at mean high water?

Doug

7

Not a typo, it’s below water.

USCG shows “High Water” and “Mean Low Water” but not “Mean High Water.” Apparently high is high, there is no average.

RWM

8

New fixed span bridges appear to have a 65 ft. vertical clearance.

Dave H.

9

Railway Man, I didn’t quite expect anyone to go into the detail that you have with your response but I most certainly think you so much for your information.

I suppose that there is another question to be considered here: not being acquainted with the measurements associated with boat traffic on inland waterways would, for instance, the 35.6 high water clearance on N&W’s Kenova, W. Va. bridge clear the stacks of a tow boat? and does the physical measurements of the locks in this area allow the passage of tows at high water?

10

How high is “high” water? High has no upper limit. Since I have seen water come up to the bottom of some bridges (at other locations) when the rivers are above flood stage, the answer may be no. But then again at flood stage nobody’s going to be moving tows anyway.

Dave H.

11

I do suppose that a popular definition for “high water” might be any water level above average - whatever that might be. With that definition in mind in the spring almost any stream subject to snow runoff is going to assume some “high water.”

Now I may well be wrong on this but as I am lead to understand the USCG definition “High water” is the water level just before a stream goes into flood. This may be a very poor gauge but ten years ago or so when the Red River of the North was giving everyone heartburn I saw numerous TV reporters on the scene making reference to the “high water” in the river and the danger of “flooding”. These definitions seemed to be substantiated by on-camera interviews with USCG personnel on the scene.

12

I don’t know about the Ohio or Mississippi Rivers, but on the Illinois Waterway (Illinois River, Sanitary & Ship Canal, Calumet-Sag Channel, Calumet River and Chicago River), the bridges of the towboats are mounted on hydraulic lifts. The bridge is usually in the high position in an open channel but can be lowered to fit under bridges.