High Bridge was the highest railroad bridge in the United States over a navigable stream at 308 feet. It was originally planned as a suspension bridge for the Lexington and Danville Railroad by John Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, and huge stone towers to hold the cables were built in 1851. Work on the bridge was abandoned during the Civil War. In 1876, the first cantilever bridge built on the American continent rose on the same site, designed by Charles Shaler Smith for the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. It was considered the most remarkable bridge in the United States when constructed and marked the beginning of modern scientific bridge building. In 1911, the bridge was replaced on the same foundations without stopping rail service, and in 1929 the Southern Railroad removed the towers to permit double tracks.