In 1855, a plan map routed the railroad through Bellaire, Ohio, using a crescent-shaped circuit and switch-backs to a ferry landing on the Ohio River, where train cars were loaded onto ferry boats to cross the river and unloaded in Benwood, West Virginia; this was how troops and supplies were moved during the Civil War. In 1871, the Great Stone Viaduct was completed with 43 sandstone arches, allowing train traffic to cross the Ohio River unimpeded. As a result, Bellaire became a vibrant industrial, commercial, and cultural center in the Ohio Valley. Passengers embarked on an elevated platform on the east side of Union Street. Much of the Great Stone Viaduct remains in use today, with trains traveling east on 22 stone arches to pass over the Ohio River and west and north on a steel trestle built around 1910. Preservation and development of the property included extensive cleaning, pointing, and repairs of the existing stone structure and construction of a walking and bike trail with an elevated walkway and observation deck on 21 of the original stone arches, with a walking plaza surrounding the base of the arches.