Turnpike Bridge

The West Virginia Turnpike is a four-lane toll highway, 88 miles in length, between Princeton and Charleston, West Virginia. Interstate 77 is carried by the entire length of the Turnpike, Interstate 64 is carried from Charleston to south of the City of Beckley.... The Turnpike has 116 bridges, more than one every mile. Three of its major bridges were named for native West Virginia military heroes - two Congressional Medal of Honor winners, Sergeant Cornelius Charlton and Sergeant Stanley Bender, and one noted aviation pioneer, Brigadier General Charles E. (Chuck) Yeager, the first to penetrate the sound barrier… ---transportationwv.org

About four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was illegal in the famous Brown versus the Topeka Board of Education case (May 17, 1954), West Virginia named a bridge on its Turnpike in honor of a black man ... an African American named Sgt. Cornelius Charlton, one of only two African Americans in an integrated U.S. Army to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War. ---Bill Archer, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, February 8, 2015.

Sergeant Charlton was killed in action in Korea on June 2, 1951.

The C. H. Charlton Memorial Bridges carry the West Virginia Turnpike and I-77 over the Bluestone River and Mercer County Route 3 (Eads Mill Road).  It is about 12 miles from Athens. Originally a two-lane bridge built in 1954, it was expanded to four lanes when parallel bridges were completed in 1979. The original circa 1954 Charlton Bridge was rehabilitated in 1983. The bridge honors a true West Virginia hero who gave his life to help keep our country free.

Young friends from Athens grew up playing on the Concord College (now Concord University) grounds, considering it their own personal park. With newly acquired driver’s licenses and use of the family car they were able to explore other destinations. One of those destinations was under the C. H. Charlton Memorial Bridges on Mercer County Route 3. 

Garland Elmore who grew up in Athens said after spending a lifetime away from the area pursuing his career, raising his family, becoming a grandfather, and then retiring, returning to explore the rugged terrain and river under the bridge brought back wonderful memories. He remembered being on the banks of the Bluestone River listening to the cars whizzing above on the bridge. He recalled climbing the bridge structures, playing along the river banks and exploring the surrounding area. It was a great way to spend a day away from home.