The first bridge here was built for trains in 1889, providing a critical link between the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway mainline in Thurmond and the many coal mines and communities scattered throughout the gorge. It was heavily damaged in the flood of 1908, and this bridge was rebuilt around 1910 with a pedestrian walkway. Access between Thurmond and other gorge communities improved further in 1917 with a new road to Glen Jean, and the single-lane vehicle deck on the bridge today was added later. Trains still cross the bridge, bringing coal from outside the park to the active mainline in Thurmond. In the steam-train era, railway turntables were used to change the direction of locomotives or other rolling stock, and the turntable in Thurmond was the most efficient way to move engines back in the direction from which they came because space was limited. A freight depot later covered that spot, followed by today’s depot parking lot.