The Owners' Manual | Issue 21 | Spring/Summer 2021

Joe Kempf, Harrisburg My grandfather, Frank J. Kempf, was the Corporate Bridge Engineer for Michael Baker Company and was the lead design engineer on the New River Gorge Bridge project in West Virginia. At the time of construction, this bridge held the world record for longest single arch bridge at 1,700 feet. A record that was held for 26 years. From Wikipedia: The roadway of the New River Gorge Bridge is 876 feet (267 m) above the New River, making the bridge one of the highest vehicular bridges in the world; it is the third highest in the United States. When completed in 1977, it was theworld’s highest bridge carrying a regular roadway, a title it held until the 2001 opening of the Liuguanghe Bridge in China. Because of its height, the bridge has attracted daredevils since its construction. It is now the centerpiece of the annual “Bridge Day”, during which hundreds of people, with appropriate equipment, are permitted to climb on or jump from the bridge. In 2005, the structure gained additional attention when the US Mint issued the West Virginia state quarter with the bridge depicted on one side. In 2013, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. My grandfather worked on many other big projects, but this bridge was always his most proud work. When the U.S. mint printed this bridge on the WV state quarter, Baker Co. sent my grandfather a dozen rolls of all WV quarters to commemorate his work.