ZANESVILLE's Y-BRIDGE......AUGUST 11 2011...............

Today is a history lesson.  It is about the famous Y-bridge located in Zanesville, Ohio. 

Zanesville, Ohio came into being when Colonel Ebenezer Zane convinced congress to build a road from Wheeling West Virginia to Maysville Kentucky.  Where Zanesville is there is the confluence (joining together for dummies like me) of two rivers, the Licking and the Muskingum.  Hence the Y-bridge.

You can see from this map the joining of the two rivers.  Route 40 (known as Zane's Trace and the National Road) crosses the River, and Linden Avenue branches off of the bridge.  This is what forms the "Y" of the bridge.

The first Y bridge was constructed of wooden trestles and stone with logs and planks bolted to the trestles  The center pier was made of limestone and above it stood the toll house. 

The bridge opened on November 16, 1814 and had the following tolls:

Each foot passenger - 3 cents
Each horse, mule, or ass - 4 cents
Each horse and rider - 12-1/2 cents
Each coach with four wheels and driver, drawn by four horses - 75 cents.

In 1818 this first Y-bridge was washed away by a flood.

Construction of the second Y-bridge began immediately and was opened in 1819.  Like the first bridge this one was wooden, with a toll house.

Twelve years later this bridge was declared unsafe because of heavy traffic.  So the third Y-bridge was constructed, also a wooden bridge, but this time a COVERED bridge.  (Wish I had a picture of that!)  This bridge was completed in 1832.

In 1868 the county commissioners bought the bridge and abolished the toll charge.  Eventually rumors began to spread that the bridge was unsafe and in 1900 it was voted to tear down the covered bridge and rebuild.

The fourth Y-bridge opened to traffic in 1902.    In the 1940's highway engineers spotted trouble with the bridge, but were ignored by local residents for another 30 years.  In 1983 construction began on the fifth Y-bridge, and completed in 1984, and it is this fifth bridge that I was on this past weekend.

This is an areal view of the bridge as it looks today courtesy of a web site about the bridge.  You can see the leg of the Y on the right hand side of the picture.  It was on this leg that the festival is held.

"GO TO THE MIDDLE OF THE BRIDGE AND TURN LEFT".

According to local legend, these are the directions a Zanesville man gave a confused traveler more than 100 years ago.  This phrase is still in use today.  It is also the only bridge that you cross a river and are still on the same side of the river.  Go figure!

The Y-bridge has received worldwide attention.  In the day when airplane pilots used landmarks for guidance, they always knew when they were over Zanesville.

I have heard of the Y-bridge all my adult life, but this was the first time I had ever seen it.  I wonder when bridge number six is going to be built?

I hope you enjoyed your history lesson today, that you weren't bored to tears.  The great thing about traveling is the getting to know about the things you see, things you did not know before.  As I tell folks during the festivals - "There is a story behind every picture".  And there is.

When you get a chance drive to Zanesville, for not only is the bridge amazing, their courthouse is beautiful, and some of the churches are awesome.  Take a day and take it all in, and God Bless.