Today’s 300 mile journey from Fayetteville, WV back home was the longest and most scenic drive of the trip. My only photo stops were at the New River Gorge just outside of Fayetteville. This was once an active coal mining and industrial region but is now part of a recreational area run by the National Park Service and my first stop was at the visitor center and nearby overlook. From the overlook you can see the narrow road and bridge that were used to cross the river before the modern New River Gorge Bridge opened in 1977. The “new” bridge is the longest single span arch bridge in the US and, at a height of 876 feet above the river, is the third highest.

The old road and bridge are still open and, on the video, you can compare the ease and speed of crossing the new bridge with the traditional route. Since more than 16,000 vehicles cross the new bridge each day I can only imagine how bad traffic was before it opened. Much of the rest of the journey was through the Appalachian Mountains which provided varied roads, speeds and views.

This trip was short, just 2,589 miles over 15 days, but very enjoyable and almost all new to me. Of those miles I had only driven about 300 previously and the only cities I had visited before were Richmond and Chattanooga, both decades ago.

Thank you for following along and I hope you will follow my next trip, scheduled for late summer.

Cheers, Steve.

Road video and map

The New River Gorge with the old bridge partly visible lower left.

The new bridge, as seen from the overlook, with the old road clearly visible on the opposite side.

The river and new bridge seen from the old bridge.