Robert Handley became the oldest rapeller at 79.Ĭelebration of the 40th anniversary of Bridge Dayīridge Day cancelled due to COVID-19. Route 19 closed to through traffic from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The First Mountain State Slalom and Skateboard Competition was held. Two hundred sixty five people rappelled from the bridge.īridge Day cancelled due to 9/11 The Spirit of Bridge Day was held in downtown Fayetteville. Sixteen jumpers, a group of 12 followed by a group of 4, set a world record by jumping simultaneously. Twelve BASE Jumpers leaped off the bridge to break the world record for a simultaneous jump. Tom King and Vivian Taylor tie the knot in the first wedding on the bridge.Ĭhris Allum bungee jumps from the bridge to set a world’s record for the longest bungee jump from a fixed structure.Ĭhris Allum and six others bungee jump for a record seven person jump.Ģ0th Anniversary of the dedication of the Bridge & Bridge Workers’ Appreciation Day. Jon McBride, NASA astronaut, was the honored guest.įour hundred BASE jumpers took the plunge.

Oak Hill & Fayetteville Post Offices offered the first Bridge Day cachet. Three hundred BASE jumpers jumped from the bridge. 5,500 certificates were given out to people taking the 3,000-foot walk across the bridge.Ģ8 rappellers and 10 parachutists participated in Bridge Day. There were five parachutists that jumped from the bridge into the Gorge. There were two parachutists that jumped from a plane onto the bridge. The first New River Gorge Bridge Day was held on November 8. The New River Gorge Bridge was dedicated and officially opened on Oct. Opened and dedicated on October 22, 1977, the span has since become an iconic symbol of West Virginia. The bridge is a structure of amazing statistics. The answer was to build what was then the largest arch bridge in the world. Construction began in 1974 and was completed 3 years later in 1977. It needed to cross the New River Gorge, and the only question was how. In the 1960's, construction began on Route 19, also known as Corridor L. At the time, that was the area’s engineering marvel. The bridge below the main arch bridge is the Tunney Hunsacker Bridge (often referred to as “the little bridge” by visitors.) It was the first bridge for cars to cross the New River Gorge. It all started with the Fayette Station Road, originally called the Gentry Road, which was 1909. That’s the amount of vertical space that exists between The New River Gorge Bridge and the water.

New river gorge bridge