West Virginia Department of Transportation
01/24/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/24/2025 14:44
Work scheduled to begin Monday, January 27, 2025, on Tunney Hunsaker Bridge
ork is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Monday, January 27, 2025, to replace the deck on the historic Tunney Hunsaker Bridge on County Route 82, Fayette Station Road. Work is expected to run through Friday, March 28, 2025.
The project was originally scheduled to start on January 6 but was delayed by inclement weather.
Built in 1889, the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge was the first bridge across the New River in the New River Gorge. The span was built to connect the mining towns of Fayette and South Fayette.
When the New River Gorge Bridge opened in 1977, high above the gorge, the modest span at the bottom of the gorge was closed to vehicular traffic. But the increase in tourism brought about in part by the larger bridge led to the small span being rebuilt in 1997 and reopened to traffic.
In 1998, the bridge was renamed in honor of Tunney Hunsaker, longtime Fayetteville police chief and a former professional boxer who was matched up against Muhammad Ali in Ali's first professional boxing match. Ali was declared the winner by unanimous decision after six rounds.
Ali and Hunsaker remained friends over the years, and Ali came to Fayetteville in 1997 for Hunsaker's retirement celebration.
The project was originally scheduled to start on January 6 but was delayed by inclement weather.
Built in 1889, the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge was the first bridge across the New River in the New River Gorge. The span was built to connect the mining towns of Fayette and South Fayette.
When the New River Gorge Bridge opened in 1977, high above the gorge, the modest span at the bottom of the gorge was closed to vehicular traffic. But the increase in tourism brought about in part by the larger bridge led to the small span being rebuilt in 1997 and reopened to traffic.
In 1998, the bridge was renamed in honor of Tunney Hunsaker, longtime Fayetteville police chief and a former professional boxer who was matched up against Muhammad Ali in Ali's first professional boxing match. Ali was declared the winner by unanimous decision after six rounds.
Ali and Hunsaker remained friends over the years, and Ali came to Fayetteville in 1997 for Hunsaker's retirement celebration.