rogruth wrote:I had noticed that feature on this bridge before. I have never seen a model like this.
The hillsides were certainly changed considerably when new roads were built.
My guess is that there would have been a great outcry if the railroads had done that to the hills.
You're right, Roger. On the West Virginia side, the state really transformed the land as a result of two projects:
- The Route 22 bypass, which seemed to forever to get approval and get built.
- The Route 2 hill-side stabilization (south of the bridge). Rocks were always falling onto Route 2 as it headed towards Follansbee and Wheeling. The state took the opportunity to widen the road and removed massive parts of the hillside.
On the Steubenville side (which was the bottle neck for the entire project), the hillside was cut away to permit a short-cut up the hill to the Lovers Lane area.
And there's no way the railroads would have been allowed to do any of this.
In the end, this bypass project pretty much killed downtown Steubenville and eclipsed much of downtown Weirton. All the action is up on the hills now.
George