History lies under the bridge
Published 10:26 am Thursday, September 7, 2017
The High Bridge Trail State Park frequently holds events and tours, sometimes including the bridge’s substructure, pictured here. (Photo by Morgan White).
Flippen said the reason there is only railroad track on one side of the bridge is because original plans laid out possibly making the structure a double-track bridge. He said while engineers were thinking ahead, the second track was never laid. (Photo by Morgan White).
According to Flippen, there are 12 piers remaining from the original 20 that supported the original High Bridge. He said the old bridge, which was constructed during the 1850s, had approximately 1,000 people working to construct it.
The original High Bridge — once simply a bed of railroad tracks spanning across the Appomattox River — was burned by Confederate forces during the American Civil War attempting to flee Union soldiers.
According to Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Education Specialist Bob Flippen, Union soldiers were able to cross the Appomattox River on a wagon bridge that laid closer to the ground, inevitably leading to Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse.
Bob Flippen
The steel bridge, which the current bridge sits atop, was erected during a 15-month time period between 1913-14.
“It took 13 months to build up the earth and approaches on each end. The Prince Edward side was 400 feet (tall), the Cumberland side was 1,800 feet (tall),” Flippen said.
According to Flippen, traffic was diverted from the old bridge to the new bridge on June 22, 1914. Tours and other events at the High Bridge Trail State Park occur frequently. For more information regarding tours and other events, visit http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/high-bridge-trail.
