M/V J.S. Lewis

It's been a while since one of my favorite boats has been on the river, but she has a new owner. As this is written, the J.S. Lewis is on its way to Neale Island at Vienna WV, having been bought from Amherst Madison. Here the boat is being pushed by the M/V Alabama as they pass the John E. Amos Power Plant on the Kanawha River.

Here's one in black and white as seen from St. Albans WV.

I look forward to seeing how C.R. Neale III restores this classic after having saved her from the scrapper.

 

Three boats on a winter afternoon

 A cloudless sky and a bright sun made subfreezing temperatures bearable today I got these cold-hating bones down to the mouth of the Big Sandy River, where small pieces of ice came out into the Ohio and melted. And I got to see three boats.

First was the R.H. Beymer coming out of the Big Sandy before turning and heading up the Ohio.

Then came the Louisville. I had seen it was coming downriver, and I asked myself if it would stop and drop its barges at South Point, which it did.

And then there was the Stephen T, which also came out of the Big Sandy and headed up the Ohio.

I have a few other photos to process, but they might not be done before the snow melts and people lose interest in cold weather photos.

Rehearsal

 There's not been much to shoot down at the river lately -- meaning shots I haven't gotten a hundred times before. Maybe a boat that I've never photographed has come through, but other than that, it's been pretty normal here.

This evening as the day was ending I got this shot of the M/V Louisville.

This image has problems. The light wasn't great, and I shot it from inside my truck because the boat arrived at the park just as I got there and, frankly, I didn't want to spend a lot of time out in the cold.

I think of this as a practice run. Looking at the original image, I would have preferred to have more daylight. Having a late April or early May background with lots of green foliage would have helped. And I noticed some things to correct with where I place the camera and how to compensate for lens quirks that you don't notice until you look at the photo large.

This spring I'll go back and get a simlar picture in better conditions and with a little more planning, I hope.

Jennings Randolph Bridge re-opens

 I wanted to post this last night, but my internet service went down for a while.

This news release came from the West Virginia Division of Highways. My comments are below it.

(Photo courtesy West Virgiia Division of Highways)

CHARLESTON, WV – The Jennings Randolph Bridge, which carries US 30 across the Ohio River between Chester, West Virginia, and East Liverpool, Ohio, is scheduled to reopen to traffic this afternoon.   The bridge was closed on Monday, December 11, 2023, after a federally mandated inspection discovered cracking in two welds on the steel bridge structure. The cracks were not visible to the naked eye, but the WVDOH, in an abundance of caution, decided to close the bridge while repairs were completed.   The Jennings Randolph Bridge was built in 1977 using T-1 steel. At the time, welded T-1 steel was common in bridge construction, but it was later discovered that cracks could develop in the welds joining the beams. Cracks in T-1 steel welds led to the closure of the Interstate 64 Sherman Minton Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2011, and the Interstate 40 Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis in 2021.   Recently, the federal government required specialized testing on all bridges made with T-1 steel. Special testing on bridges made with T-1 steel has since been conducted on bridges all over the United States.   It was during one of those tests that a few cracks were identified in welds on the Jennings Randolph Bridge. Because the cracks could cause safety issues in the future, the WVDOH shut the bridge down to repair the cracks.   Bridge inspection consultant Modjeski & Masters identified 18 additional internal defects on welds on the bridge that needed to be repaired before reopening the bridge. Those defects on the bridge have since been repaired. All four lanes are opening this afternoon.  Intermittent closures of the outside lanes will be required at times as additional repairs are completed.  Those repairs can be completed with traffic present, allowing at least one lane in each direction to remain open.

With work continuing in all 55 counties across the state, the West Virginia Division of Highways and the West Virginia Department of Transportation remind the public of the importance of keeping everyone safe in work zones by keeping “Heads up; phones down!”

This reminded me of the Sherman Minton Bridge at Louisville, which was closed in 2012 for similar reasons. Some butt weld cracks had to be repaired. You don't know how hard it was for me to get those three words in the correct order.