Train Bridge.High Bridge. Kentucky

High Bridge Jessamine and Mercer County, Kentucky Long before the bridge we see today crossed the Kentucky River, engineer John A. Roebling had plans for this exact location. In 1851 Roebling was hired to design a massive suspension bridge here for the Lexington and Danville Railroad. The stone towers Roebling built for that suspension bridge were only partially dismantled and they are still in place today, serving as abutments for the bridge that ultimately replaced his design. Roebling’s project never reached completion. Financial problems hit the Lexington and Danville Railroad and the company ran out of money before the suspension bridge could be finished. With funding gone, construction stopped and the project was abandoned. This work happened years before Roebling would go on to design the Roebling Suspension Bridge between Covington and Cincinnati and decades before construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Years later a completely different bridge was built on the site. The High Bridge that stands today opened in 1877 and rises roughly 275 feet above the Kentucky River below. At the time it was the tallest railroad bridge over a navigable waterway in North America. As someone who spends a lot of time photographing the Roebling Suspension Bridge in Covington, I have always been fascinated by John A. Roebling and the structures he designed. Visiting places connected to his work feels a bit like stepping into the early chapters of American engineering history. I hope to see as many of his projects as I can. Historic photos in the comments.