Collapse of U.S. 35 Highway Bridge, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, December 15, 1967 (HAR-71/01)

This is the final highway accident report (NTSB-HAR-71-1) from the National Transportation Safety Board, adopted in December 1970. It covers the collapse of the U.S. 35 bridge between Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Kanauga, Ohio, on December 15, 1967, which killed 46 people. The Board found that the cause was a cleavage fracture in eyebar 330 at joint C13N. That fracture grew from a flaw produced over 40 years by stress corrosion and corrosion fatigue, in a spot that could not be seen or found by inspection.

APPENDIX B NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS TEST RESULTS

Table A1. (Cont.) Hardness Test Results, Eye CO, Segment 1.

Distance from hole	Vickers hardness number
Spec.A	Spec.B	Spec.C
0.5mm	0.02mm 262	253	266
1.0	.04 264	254	262
1.5	.06 266	249	260
2.0	.08 262 258
2.5	.10 260	260
3.0	.12 260 254
3.5	.14 258 262
4.0	.16 258 262
4.5	.18 262	251	258
8.5	.33 249
15.5	.16 245

Note: All measurements on specimens A and C were made approximately 4 mm (0.16 in.) from the face of the bar.