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Silver Bridge Site Named Historic Landmark 52 Years After Collapse
By: Associated Press
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POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. (AP) – The site of a West Virginia bridge that collapsed 52 years ago and killed dozens of people has been recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ recognition for Silver Bridge was announced Sunday during a ceremony where the suspension bridge once stood. The bridge named for the color of its aluminum paint crossed the Ohio River, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio.
The bridge opened to traffic in 1928. It collapsed on December 15, 1967, taking the lives of 46 people.
The collapse led to the establishment of the first national bridge safety inspection program the next year.