Archive for the ‘Bridge Day’ Category

Annual Bridge Day Celebration Draws Huge Crowd

Monday, October 24th, 2011
Some pretty amazing stats from this mornings' NPS Digest on the most recent Bridge Day at New River Gorge:

Bridge Day was held in the park on the Saturday before last and drew almost 100,000 visitors.

The bridge over New River Gorge National River is a prominent icon in West Virginia. Dedicated and officially opened on October 22, 1977, the New River Gorge Bridge spans 1,700 feet with an overall length of 3,030 feet; it is the longest single arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere and the second longest in the world. At 876 feet high, it is the second highest bridge in the United States. It is owned by the West Virginia Department of Highways, and the Bridge Day celebration is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and numerous state and county agencies.

The first New River Gorge Bridge Day was held on November 8, 1980. The celebration is held annually on the third Saturday in October and is West Virginia’s largest single-day event.

The event is keynoted by the largest BASE jumping event in the world. For six hours during the festival, the New River Gorge Bridge is the launching point for BASE jumps, rappelling teams and high line rides done under permit. This year there were 868 rappels, and 750 BASE jumps completed by 421 jumpers. This included 11 tandem jumps, a first for the event. Boat rescue teams made 180 water pick-ups; there were eight ambulance transports for back injuries, broken limbs, and other injuries. One BASE jumper failed to open his parachute in time and hit the river at about 60mph and was hospitalized with spinal injuries, lung injuries, and a fractured pelvis.

The event is managed under the incident command system, with fourteen agencies participated in the operation.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Bridge Day, New River Gorge National River | Comments Off

Land purchase in New River Gorge helps clear way for 100-mile trail

Monday, October 25th, 2010
On September 14th, with assistance from the West Virginia office of The Nature Conservancy, the United States purchased approximately 618 acres at New River Gorge National River for $980,000. Congress appropriated the money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which receives revenue from offshore oil and gas leases.

The property is located underneath the New River Gorge Bridge on river left, and it stretches approximately 5.6 miles downriver to Hawks Nest State Park. A large portion of this property was added to the park boundary with legislation enacted in 2002.

Gary Driggs, owner and developer of adjacent Bridgeview Estates, sold the land to the USA. Driggs constructed a network of trails through the 618-acre parcel that connects with Bridgeview Estates, providing a recreational enhancement for the subdivision residents.

"This purchase is critical to New River Gorge National River in many ways,” said Superintendent Don Striker. “Protecting these large, intact forests is crucial to protecting the gorge. But it also will allow us to add six miles to the through-the-park trail, which will eventually stretch 100 miles through the park."

Bridge Day, occurring on the third Saturday in October, is the one time of the year New River Gorge Bridge is open to pedestrians and closed to vehicle traffic, and this willing seller purchase will help preserve the view on the southeast slope of the canyon downriver from the bridge, which is shown on the West Virginia State Quarter.

Here's a flavor of what Bridge Day is all about:





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed trail information for the Great Smoky Mountains; trail descriptions, key features, pictures, maps, elevation profiles, news, books and more.

Posted in Bridge Day, New River Gorge Bridge, New River Gorge National River | Comments Off