I'm curious as to who (what entity) owns the bridge over the Ohio River between Steubenville, OH and Weirton, WV. When it was Pennsylvania Railroad property, it was simply known as the bridge at MP 42.11 of the Panhandle Division. As far as I know, it had no other designation. In 1968, the bridge became the property of Penn Central. When PC folded, it was absorbed into Conrail. I believe the Panhandle was taken out of service in 1995. Weirton Junction yard was sold to Weirton Steel; the Panhandle was severed just east of that point and converted into a rail trail. I believe that mineral trains still pass (infrequently) over the bridge to deliver to Weirton Steel (now Arcelor Mittal), but I don't know that for sure.
So, given all that, I'd like to know:
- Who or what owns the bridge?
- How many trains and at what intervals pass over it, if any?
- What sort of maintenance, if any, is being done to extend the life of this structure? Obviously, it's not a critical part of the nation's infrastructure at this point, but if it were to go it would be impossibly expensive to replace.
Photo below.
Thanks,
George
