Weston And Gauley Bridge Turnpike
The turnpike was one of the first in Virginia to run in a north-south orientation. It was originally proposed to link the Northwestern Turnpike to the Parkersburg-Staunton turnpike. The construction, funded partly by the selling of stock, was delayed by multiple instances of mismanagement and conflicts of interest.
The largest bridge on the turnpike, crossing the Elk River at Sutton, was a cable suspension bridge that spanned 460 feet and was completed before 1857.
Large sections of the original turnpike were incorporated into the building of US Route 19 in the 1920's. However, much of the modern highway is located in the bottoms of valleys and no longer follows the old alignments along the ridge tops. Thus, much of the bypassed section remains in essentially original condition
The preserved 10 mile long segment was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "WGBTP Trail Brochure" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Huntington District. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ Paige Cruz (February 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Weston and Gauley Bridge Turnpike" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
- ^ Kemp, E. L. (May 9, 1980). "Weston and Gauley Bridge Turnpike" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 1, 2022.