The Henderson Bridge provides a vital link in the highway of the Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area. Crossing the Kanawha River, it connects the communities of St. Albans and Nitro, serving 19,000 vehicles per day on its two lane roadway. In 1999, the Regional Intergovernmental Council (RIC) initiated a study to identify an appropriate location for a replacement for the 65-year old bridge. It was quickly determined that the existing structure could not simply be replaced in-kind, because of the need to provide four lanes, and the need to comply with revised Coast Guard clearance requirements. This study was unusual, in that it; (1) involved existing rail-highway grade crossings in both communities, and the desire to close at least some of them for a new grade separation; (2) considered new crossing locations along two or three corridors; (3) did not narrow the several alternates considered down to a locally preferred alternate; and (4) qualitatively considered substantial land use changes and economic impacts in St. Albans. This paper describes the study and its unusual features and also provides a set of "lessons" learned from the effort.
Abstract