John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge

John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge
The bridge in 2009
Coordinates	39°05′32″N 84°30′35″W / 39.0922°N 84.5096°W / 39.0922; -84.5096
Carries	KY 17
Crosses	Ohio River
Other name(s)	Covington and Cincinnati Suspension Bridge
Maintained by	Kentucky Transportation Cabinet[1]
Characteristics
Total length	1,642 ft 11 in (500.8 m)[2]
Longest span	1,057 ft (322 m)[3]
Clearance below	100 ft (30 m) in 1867. Current clearance at normal pool: 74 ft (23 m) [4]
Location

Covington and Cincinnati Suspension Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
A view of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge from Cincinnati, Ohio on the north bank of the Ohio River with Covington, Kentucky in the background
Show map of Kentucky Show map of the United States
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio to Covington, Kentucky
Coordinates	39°5′32.03″N 84°30′34.45″W / 39.0922306°N 84.5095694°W / 39.0922306; -84.5095694
Built	1856—1867[6]
Architect	John A. Roebling
NRHP reference No.	75000786[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 15, 1975
Designated NHL	May 15, 1975

The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (formerly the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge) is a suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. When opened on December 1, 1866, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1,057 feet (322 m) main span,^[3] which was later overtaken by John A. Roebling's most famous design of the 1883 Brooklyn Bridge at 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m). Pedestrians use the bridge to get between the hotels, bars, restaurants, and parking lots in Northern Kentucky. The bar and restaurant district at the foot of the bridge on the Kentucky side is known as Roebling Point.

Ramps were constructed leading directly from the bridge to the Dixie Terminal building used for streetcars. These provided Covington–Cincinnati streetcars "with a grade-separated route to the center of downtown, and the terminal building was originally intended to connect, via underground pedestrian passages, with the never-built Fountain Square Station of the infamous Cincinnati Subway."^[7] When streetcar service ceased in the 1950s, the terminal was converted to a diesel bus terminal. The ramps were removed in 1998 when it ceased being used as a bus terminal.^[8]