Admiral T. J. Lopez Bridge

38°11′52″N 81°29′47″W / 38.19778°N 81.49639°W / 38.19778; -81.49639Carries4 lanesCrossesKanawha RiverLocaleChelyan, West VirginiaOther name(s)Chelyan BridgeOwnerWest Virginia Department of TransportationCharacteristicsDesignTruss bridgeTotal length2,200 feet (670 m)Longest span594 feet (181 m)HistoryDesignerHDR Engineering Inc., PittsburghConstruction startMay 1995Construction end1997Construction cost$25.9 millionOpenedJune 30, 1997Location

The Admiral T. J. Lopez Bridge is a truss bridge crossing the Kanawha River at Chelyan, West Virginia, named for 4-star admiral Thomas J. Lopez.^[1] The Warren truss bridge cost $25.9 million to build, and was opened to traffic on June 30, 1997. It serves as a connection between I-64/I-77 (West Virginia Turnpike), U.S. Route 60 (US 60), and West Virginia Route 61 (WV 61).

The current bridge replaced an earlier crossing known as the Chelyan Bridge. Initially a toll crossing constructed for the Midland Trail-James River Bridge Company in 1928-29, this bridge consisted of 17 riveted steel truss and girder spans with a total length of 1,355 feet (413 m). The main span over the navigable channel was a 450-foot-long (140 m) cantilever truss with 200-foot (61 m) side spans. It was sold to the state of West Virginia in 1946 and, despite several rehabilitation projects over the years, continuing deterioration of the bridge required a load limit to be imposed. The bridge was documented by the West Virginia Division of Highways for the Historic American Engineering Record in 1993 prior to its replacement.^[2]

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in West Virginia

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. WV-46, "Chelyan Bridge, Spanning Kanawha River at U.S. Route 61 spur, Chelyan, Kanawha County, WV", 14 photos, 8 data pages, 4 photo caption pages