Kanawha Bridge

Kanawha Bridge and Terminal Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Railroad, Bridge operation
Founded	1907 (1907)
Defunct	1910
Fate	Purchased by Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Headquarters	Charleston , United States
Area served	Charleston, West Virginia
Products	Bridge and terminal facilities, railroad operations

The Kanawha Bridge is a disused Parker through-truss railroad bridge spanning the Kanawha River in Charleston, West Virginia. Positioned to the east of the Patrick Street Bridge, it is currently referred to as the "Travis L. Castle Railroad Trestle."

History

Constructed in 1907 by the American Bridge Company, this structure served multiple purposes, accommodating rail traffic for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, operations of the Charleston Interurban Company, as well as vehicles and pedestrians.

Ownership of the bridge, along with terminal facilities and associated track segments within Charleston, was held by the Kanawha Bridge and Terminal Company, which was incorporated in West Virginia in 1907.

In 1910, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway purchased this company to establish a connection with the Kanawha and Michigan Railway located north of the river. The Kanawha and Michigan Railway was linked to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, which was subsequently merged into the New York Central Railroad, now integrated into Norfolk Southern Railway's West Virginia Secondary line.

Rail service over the bridge ended during the 1980s. During the early 2000s, there were municipal proposals in Charleston to convert the bridge into a bicycle crossing; however, by 2019 these initiatives were discontinued due to prohibitive refurbishment expenses.