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Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1866-1867

John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge

The Roebling bridge between Cincinnati and Covington opened to traffic on January 1, 1867 as the longest suspension bridge in the world (1,057 ft main span); it later served as a model for Roebling's Brooklyn Bridge. NHL 1975.

At a glance

Year
1866-1867
By
John A. Roebling
Place
Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County

The story

The Ohio River was a barrier between Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky. Ferries carried people across, but a bridge needed a span long enough to leave the river clear for steamboats. John A. Roebling designed a suspension bridge to do it.

Construction began in 1856 and was slowed by money trouble and the Civil War. Pedestrians first crossed on December 1, 1866, and the bridge opened to vehicles on January 1, 1867. At that time its 1,057-foot main span made it the longest suspension bridge in the world. Tolls were small: 15 cents for a horse and buggy, 25 cents for three horses and a carriage, and one cent for a pedestrian.

It was a prototype for Roebling's Brooklyn Bridge, finished in 1883. Kentucky bought the bridge in 1953 for $4.2 million.

The bridge received landmark designations in 1975 and underwent a nine-month closure for rehabilitation from February to November 2021.

Timeline

  • 1856: Construction begins. (Cincinnati, OH / Covington, KY) source
  • 1866-12-01: Pedestrians first cross the bridge. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1867-01-01: Formal opening for vehicle traffic. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1883: The Brooklyn Bridge, built on the lessons of this one, is completed. (Brooklyn, NY) source
  • 1953: Kentucky buys the bridge for $4.2 million. (Kentucky) source
  • 1975: The bridge receives landmark designations. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 2021-02: Nine-month closure for rehabilitation begins. (Cincinnati, OH) source

What it changed

  • The longest suspension bridge in the world at opening, 1,057 feet.
  • Prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge.

Why it matters

Prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge.

Worth knowing

The bridge's ceremonial opening to pedestrians came in 1866, but it opened to traffic in 1867, which is the year used here.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.