bridge.The tour’s pace is dictated by the participants and plenty of time is continued from page 150 allowed to take pictures and ask questions. catwalk entrance. At this point, the Bridge Walk provides one of the harnesses that were fitted to each guest most remarkable and fascinating perduring orientation are securely fastened spectives of not only the New River to the longest continuous safety system Gorge and the New River below but in the world. Once they are attached to an up close and personal view of the the cable, they cannot be removed till New River Gorge Bridge. It took from the guests arrive at the other end of the 1974 through 1977 to construct this engineering marvel.The New River Gorge Bridge spans 3,030 New River Gorge Bridge feet across one of the oldest • Longest single arch bridge in the Western river gorges in the world and, at Hemisphere 876 feet above the river, it is the • Third longest single arch bridge in the world second highest vehicle carrying • Second highest vehicle carrying bridge in the bridge in the United States. United States One of the educational focuses • Third highest bridge in the United States is economics, which ties into the • 13th highest bridge in the world tour as to why the bridge was • On the West Virginia State quarter built. State Route 82 is the narrow • On a United States postal stamp road that was used for years to • A national landmark in engineering cross the gorge. It could take 40 • Eighth Mega Structure on Earth minutes to navigate this steep and • Bridge Day™ celebrated third Saturday every winding road.To help promote October commerce within the state and
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beyond, the New River Gorge Bridge was built to speed the passage from north to south. Now it takes less than 40 seconds for a vehicle to cross this canyon. Benjy Simpson is the managing partner and one of six investors in the Bridge Walk endeavour and he is one of the chief proponents of the educational aspect the tours have to offer. Simpson believes that changing the way our youth are educated can have a big impact on their future and he enjoys experiencing the bridge a little differently everyday through the eyes of the guests. “We get to see a different perspective of the bridge through their eyes and behavior,” said Simpson.“They are excited and thrilled, expressing wonderment about their walk; what they did and what they got to see.”The Plato quote “you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” is one of his favorite’s and definitely heart-felt after 40 years in the tourism industry. Another focus of the tour includes