State officials remember those who lost their lives in the Silver Bridge collapse

At 4:58 p.m. on Friday, December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed. The bridge was crammed with carloads of shoppers scrambling to complete their Christmas shopping.

The tragedy led to the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, which established a National Bridge Inspection Program which created bridge inspection standards still in use today.

“The anniversary of the Silver Bridge collapse is a solemn reminder of the lives lost and the lessons learned from that tragedy,” said Governor Patrick Morrisey. “That moment changed how our nation approaches bridge safety, inspection, and accountability. Today, we honor those 46 lives by renewing our commitment to vigilance, stewardship, and the ongoing work of maintaining safe and reliable infrastructure for every West Virginian.”

“Today we remember the 46 lives lost on December 15, 1967,” said Transportation Secretary Stephen Todd Rumbaugh, P.E. “That profound loss forever changed the way bridges are inspected and maintained, leading to national standards that prioritize safety and protect the traveling public. As we honor those we lost, we reaffirm our commitment to preserve and strengthen our bridges and infrastructure so that such a tragedy never happens again.”

The Silver Bridge was constructed using steel eyebars, which supported the bridge from above like a giant bicycle chain. But the bridge had a fatal flaw. While many eyebar bridges of the time had several chains on either side to provide redundancy, the Silver Bridge had only one chain on each side of the span to hold up the bridge decking.

The bridge collapse was traced to the failure of a single link in the chain from a stress crack that would have been difficult for inspectors to have spotted.

“One of the main reasons I became a bridge engineer was to make sure something like the Silver Bridge collapse never, ever happened again,” said Tracy Brown, P.E., West Virginia Division of Highways state bridge engineer.

“I think about the Silver Bridge every day, even now,” Brown said. “At the West Virginia Division of Highways, every time we train new bridge inspectors, we talk about the Silver Bridge. It is the reason we do what we do. If you’re related to the bridge industry in some way in your career, it’s not just a career or a job. It’s a mission you’re on to keep this from ever happening again.”