Floodwall mural remembers 1967 Ohio River bridge collapse

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. (AP)

A mural has been painted on an Ohio River community’s floodwall in West Virginia in remembrance of a highway bridge collapse that killed 46 people.

News outlets report Jesse Corlis painted the mural in Point Pleasant depicting where the Silver Bridge crossed the Ohio River along U.S. Route 35. The bridge fell into the frigid river Dec. 15, 1967.

The mural shows two cars passing over the bridge with a sunset backdrop and 46 geese flying over the river. It took Corlis 200 hours to paint the mural.

The bridge’s collapse set into motion congressional hearings that led to the first national bridge inspection program.