MAYSVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky's first cable-stayed bridge was christened Friday morning with its first travelers.

        The William Harsha Bridge, named for an Ohio legislator, connects this small Kentucky city to Aberdeen, Ohio, and the rest of the Buckeye State.

A tow pushes barges up the Ohio River as traffic moves across the William Harsha Bridge, which opened Friday and connects Maysville, Ky., and Aberdeen, Ohio. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        A quarter-mile stretch of vehicles crawled across the 2,000-plus-foot bridge, traveling bumper to bumper as they enjoyed the smooth ride along the $36 million bridge spanning the Ohio River.

        It is expected to spark an economic renaissance throughout the area, bring two communities together, make travel more efficient at rush hour and provide a quicker north-south passage between Lexington and Columbus.

        Drivers were most eager to traverse the new engineering wonder that was almost four years in the making and required 14 miles of electrical wiring, 10.3 million pounds of steel and 21,440 cubic yards of concrete.

        “It's a part of Maysville history,” said Hilda Helphinstine, who sat in a car, holding a camera as she waited for the bridge to open. “We've watched it from the clearing of the land to now. We've continually checked its progress. We just want to be one of the first ones to go over the bridge.”

        Dan Taylor, 66, of Maysville, was some cars back, just as anxious to drive over the new bridge. He planned to travel over the towering construction into Ohio and then return to Maysville by traveling over the Simon Kenton suspension bridge built in 1931.

        “I'm just wanting to see it open up,” he said. “This will help us a lot. It's just something kind of special. It'll be a big plus to the whole area.”

        Mayor David Cartmell was equally excited. Kentucky legislators began pushing for a new Ohio River span in the 1970s but it was Mr. Cartmell's mother, a former mayor, who returned from a trip to Arizona in the 1980s and said the new bridge should resemble her picture of a cable-stayed span there.

        Cable-stayed bridges involve the diagonal stretch of steel cables. Suspension bridges involve a vertical stretch of cables.

        “It was thrilling,” Mr. Cartmell said after driving over the bridge. “It's a credit to the engineering profession that something that major could be put here in this valley. We're going to become much closer to southern Ohio. How many towns of 8,500 have a bridge like this?”

        He and Billie Eitel, mayor of Aberdeen, which has about 1,300 residents, were the first to drive across the bridge, traveling in Mr. Cartmell's red Corvette.

        They broke through red tape to lead the other vehicles across the span that entails a web of 80 steel cables and two concrete towers, undergirded by seven concrete piers.

        They were trailed by the Rev. C. Wayne Barnett of First Christian Church in Maysville and state Sen. Charlie Borders, R-Russell, state Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, and Rep. Mike Denham, D-Maysville.

        They all professed a belief that the bridge will improve Maysville's economy. They also commended former state Rep. Pete Worthington, D-Washington, for helping the bridge come to fruition. Mr. Worthington died last year in a car crash.

        Congress agreed to fund the bridge in 1986, but it took years to choose a site. Construction began in spring 1997.

        The project came with the construction of an access road, the Clyde T. Barbour Highway, that connects Ky. 9 to the bridge site.

        The bridge should be able to handle at least 26,000 cars a day - the daily rate that travels through the intersection at Ky. 9 and Clyde T. Barbour Highway, transportation officials said.

        “I think we have a bridge here that's really going to serve this community well,” said Jim Rummage, chief district engineer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

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