High Bridge of Kentucky

High Bridge is a railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades, connecting Jessamine and Mercer counties, Kentucky. Constructed in 1876, it is the first cantilever bridge in the United States. It has a three-span continuous under-deck truss used by Norfolk Southern Railway to carry trains between Lexington and Danville. It has been designated as a National Civil Engineering Landmark.HistoryA bridge was begun in the 1850s for the Lexington and Danville Railroad. Designed by John A. Roebling (who designed the Brooklyn Bridge) as a suspension bridge supported by stone towers, it was not completed. The towers for the suspension cables were built and portions remained until 1929.The bridge was redesigned of cantilever design and opened in 1877 on the Cincinnati Southern Railway. It was 275ft tall and 1125ft long: the tallest bridge above a navigable waterway in North America and the tallest railroad bridge in the world until the early 20th century. With a three-span continuous under-deck truss, it was designed by Charles Shaler Smith and was the first cantilever bridge in the United States. In 1879 President Hayes and Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman attended the dedication.