Linn Cove Viaduct
Linn Cove Viaduct, claimed to be the most complicated concrete bridge ever built, is a 1,243-foot concrete segmental bridge which skirts around some particularly rugged edges of Grandfather Mountain. Construction began in 1979 and was completed in 1987 at a cost of $10 million. This was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be completed and finally ended the 52-year construction project for a high-mountain parkway connecting Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that began in 1935.
The Viaduct was constructed from the top down, rather than the more traditional ground up approach, to minimize the damage that a traditional cut-and-fill road would have caused to Grandfather Mountain. This method eliminated the need for a "pioneer road" and heavy equipment on the ground. The only construction that occurred at ground level was drilling to anchor foundations for the seven permanent piers on which the Viaduct rests. Exposed rock was covered to prevent staining from concrete, epoxy, or grout. The only trees cut were those directly beneath the superstructure. The viaduct consists of 153 sections weighing 50 tons each which were precast at an indoor facility a few miles down the parkway, transported to the site on the parkway itself, and lowered into place with a couple of huge cranes that were custom fabricated for the project.
Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, USA. Elevation: 4,442 ft. October 17, 2016.
Linn Cove Viaduct
Linn Cove Viaduct, claimed to be the most complicated concrete bridge ever built, is a 1,243-foot concrete segmental bridge which skirts around some particularly rugged edges of Grandfather Mountain. Construction began in 1979 and was completed in 1987 at a cost of $10 million. This was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be completed and finally ended the 52-year construction project for a high-mountain parkway connecting Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that began in 1935.
The Viaduct was constructed from the top down, rather than the more traditional ground up approach, to minimize the damage that a traditional cut-and-fill road would have caused to Grandfather Mountain. This method eliminated the need for a "pioneer road" and heavy equipment on the ground. The only construction that occurred at ground level was drilling to anchor foundations for the seven permanent piers on which the Viaduct rests. Exposed rock was covered to prevent staining from concrete, epoxy, or grout. The only trees cut were those directly beneath the superstructure. The viaduct consists of 153 sections weighing 50 tons each which were precast at an indoor facility a few miles down the parkway, transported to the site on the parkway itself, and lowered into place with a couple of huge cranes that were custom fabricated for the project.
Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, USA. Elevation: 4,442 ft. October 17, 2016.