Taylor-Southgate Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 39°05′46″N 84°30′04″W / 39.09600°N 84.50120°W |
Carries | 4 lanes of
US 27 2 pedestrian sidewalks |
Crosses | Ohio River |
Locale | Newport, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio |
Maintained by | Kentucky Transportation Cabinet [1] |
Characteristics | |
Design | Continuous truss bridge |
Longest span | 259 meters (850 feet) |
History | |
Construction cost | $56 million [2] |
Opened | 1995 |
Location | |
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The Taylor–Southgate Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that was built in 1995. It has a main span of 850 feet (260 m), and a total span of 1,850 feet (560 m). The bridge carries U.S. Route 27 across the Ohio River, connecting Newport, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Some regard this bridge, which was a replacement for the Cincinnati-Newport Bridge built by Samuel Bigstaff, [3] as a little too plain in its design for a major urban bridge, especially considering many cities today are opting for a more elegant design, such as a cable stayed bridge. [4]
The bridge is named for the families of James Taylor, Jr. and Richard Southgate, two important early settlers of Newport. Richard was the father of William Wright Southgate, a pre Civil War Congressman from northern Kentucky.
The bridge replaced the Cincinnati-Newport Bridge, a truss bridge built in 1890. [5] Commonly known as Central Bridge, it was demolished in 1992. [6]
The focal point of the ballpark's backdrop is the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, a rather unassuming white steel of an expanse built in 1995 to connect Newport, Kentucky and Cincinnati. The bridge can be summed up by the unaffiliated Cincinnati-Transit.net website: 'While not an eyesore, the city missed an opportunity to build an outstanding new bridge in a high profile location'.