Leeman Field Bridge, Pennington Gap, Virginia

The Leeman Field Bridge, Pennington Gap, Virginia

In June of 2023 I was driving along Route 421 in Pennington Gap, Virginia when I noticed a bridge abutment and piers from a former bridge. Well I had to stop and check it out.

So after doing some research I was able to find out that the former bridge was probably built around 1940 and replaced with the current bridge sometime after 1994 as this is when these black & white photos were taken. The current bridge is reported to have been built by the National Guard.

Speaking with a few local people I was able to find out that the former bridge had a wooden floor with rickety wooden side rails. Unfortunately one evening a man and young girl were leaving the fairgrounds and while crossing the bridge the car went off to the side and crashed into Wallen Creek below. It was reported that the girl didn’t survive the accident.

I was lucky enough to come across this video of the April 1977 flood shot by Gerald Peters. The flood hit the entire region of Appalachia but in this clip of the Pennington Gap area, look closely and you can see the former bridge.

GPS Location: 36º46’00.5″N 83º01’48.3″W