John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge - Planning and Carter

Planning and Carter

In the decades before 1856, want and need of a passage over the Ohio River was apparent. Commerce between Ohio and Kentucky could not continue unless some form of transportation was devised that did not bow to the whims of mother nature. Unfortunately, the distance from shore to shore was great and the steamboat traffic highly congested. Up to that point, the only solution that would not constrict traffic on the river even further was a wire cable suspension bridge of the type developed by French engineers. Several American engineers had begun designing and building suspension bridges. One of these men was John A. Roebling of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. The Ohio River, however, was much wider than any river that had been bridged in France.

The Covington and Cincinnati Bridge Company was incorporated in February 1846, and the company asked Roebling about a bridge plan. The brief outline of his ideas called for a 1,200-foot (370 m) span with 100 feet (30 m) of clearance at high water to allow steamboats to pass unobstructed, but it included a monumental tower in the middle of the river. Steamboat and ferry interest groups lobbied against this plan, not believing the dimensions stated. They feared an obstructed waterway, loss of a ferry market, depreciation of property, etc. This very closely resembled the opposition to the Brooklyn Bridge that would be voiced in New York City 30 years later. The Ohio legislature refused the charter of the bridge. In September, Roebling published a 36 page report containing a convincing technical discussion and a brilliant analysis of said problems. He attacked steamboat operators for using oversized chimneys, speculated on future commercial interests, and surmised on the importance of spanning western rivers. Roebling also specified that the company should be left autonomous in regard to decision making concerning the placement of the bridge along the river. Still, no charter was granted.

After observing the construction of a suspension bridge up river, in Wheeling, Virginia (later West Virginia), the legislature relented and passed the charter, mandating excessive dimensions such as a 1,400 feet (430 m) main span, and refusing the specified autonomy. This latter provision would later be regretted by everyone involved. The roads of Cincinnati and Covington were laid collinear with each other, in the hope that a bridge would be built sometime in the future. When the Ohio legislature decided to choose their own location for the bridge, they failed to pick such an obvious spot, hoping to defend Cincinnati's preeminence over Newport and Covington, the rival Kentucky cities. The bridge itself would be located almost entirely in Kentucky because the state boundary follows the north bank of the river. It deprived Cincinnati forever of one of “the finest and most magnificent avenues on this continent.”

In 1854, a small suspension bridge over the Licking River at Newport collapsed. This event deterred investors, and the bridge company could not raise enough money to start construction. A man by the name of Amos Shinkle was elected to the board of trustees in 1856. He brought with him a much needed boost of energy. Shinkle immediately managed to find new private investors and to procure more support from both the Ohio and Kentucky governments. During this time the bridge charter was revised, and the span of the bridge was reduced to a minimum of 1,000 feet (300 m). By now, Roebling had built himself a reputation. President Ramson of the bridge company traveled to see Roebling, who was in Iowa, and he secured a contract to build the bridge. In September, Roebling arrived in Cincinnati, and, much to his disgust, nothing was prepared. The recent whirlwind of events had caught the bridge company unaware.