East Huntington Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge |
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| Coordinates | 38°26′01″N 82°23′23″W / 38.43361°N 82.38972°W |
| Carries | 2 lanes of   WV 106 / SR 775 |
| Crosses | Ohio River |
| Locale | Huntington, West Virginia and Proctorville, Ohio |
| Official name | Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge |
| Other name(s) | East Huntington Bridge, East End Bridge, 31st St Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Width | 40.0 ft (12.20 m) |
| Longest span | 900.0 ft (274.32 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | August 1985 |
The Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge is a really cool bridge that crosses the Ohio River. It's also known by a few other names, like the East Huntington Bridge or the East End Bridge. This bridge connects Huntington, West Virginia, with Proctorville, Ohio.
It's a special type of bridge called a cable-stayed bridge. This means its main deck is held up by strong cables connected to tall towers. The bridge helps people travel between West Virginia and Ohio. It carries two lanes of traffic, with West Virginia Route 106 on one side and Ohio State Route 775 on the other.
Building the Frank Gatski Bridge
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Plans for a new bridge over the Ohio River started way back in the early 1970s. People wanted to make sure the new bridge would fit well with Huntington city's plans.
Work on the bridge began in 1983. It took about two years to build and was finished in August 1985. The whole project cost around $38 million.
A Special Design
The Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge was designed by a company called Arvid Grant and Associated. It was the very first cable-stayed bridge of its kind in West Virginia. What made it even more special was that it used concrete for its main structure instead of steel. This was quite new at the time, making it only the second bridge of its type in the entire United States to use concrete in this way.
The bridge was built as a special "demonstration project" by the Federal Highway Administration. This meant it was a test to show how well this new concrete design could work.
Renaming the Bridge
On November 18, 2006, the bridge was given a new official name: the Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge. It was named after Frank Gatski, a famous football player. He was the first person from Marshall University to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This renaming happened during halftime of a Marshall-UTEP football game.
