CONSOL Energy Wing Tip Bridge

The CONSOL Energy Bridge, or Wing Tip Bridge, is an iconic fixture at the Summit connceting base camps over a 100 ft deep ravine. It is a back-anchored cable suspension bridge with a 15-foot-wide main deck and cable walkways. The bridge is 786 feet long and runs on an east-west axis.

Each end of the bridge passes through a V-shaped structure made of six steel masts, raked outward at the top.  Between the masts and abutments, the cables are splayed to provide extra stability against lateral motion. The resemblance of the slanting masts to the wing tip feathers of a flying eagle inspired the name Wing Tip Bridge.

The base of each V rests on a concrete pier that is supported by micropiles, and the four steel cables of the bridge pass over the tops of the raked masts. Above the masts at each pier location is an observation platform. From the masts, the cables dip down below the main deck as they support the 520-foot main span of the bridge.

 

Size: 786 ft long

Timeline: 2010-July 2013

Photos By: Peter Robins & Gary Hartley