to the other from about 45 minutes to 45 seconds. On August 14, 2013, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Even though it was not yet 50 years old, it was listed for its exceptional impact on local transportation and its engineering significance. Tourism The New River Gorge Bridge is within the National Park Service's New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, which protects this portion of the New River Gorge. At the northern end of the bridge, the Park Service operates a visitor center; it has scenic overlooks and a staircase that descends part of the way into the gorge. A steel catwalk two feet (60 cm) wide runs the full length of the bridge underneath the roadway. Originally built to facilitate inspections, the catwalk is open for guided, handicapped-accessible quarter-mile "Bridge Walk" tours; visitors use safety rigging. Since its opening, the bridge has been the centerpiece of Fayette County's "Bridge Day", held the third Saturday of every October. This festival includes demonstrations of rappelling, ascending, and BASE jumping. Bungee jumping, however, has been banned during Bridge Day since 1993. The bridge is closed to vehicular traffic during the festival. Prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks, two of the bridge's four lanes were open to traffic during the festivals. Since 2001, security concerns have caused the entire span to be closed to vehicles during these events. The first person to jump off the New River Gorge Bridge was Burton Ervin, who lives in Cowen, West Virginia, and was a coal-mine foreman. Burton jumped on August 1, 1979, using a conventional parachute. Four BASE jumpers have died at the bridge, three of these during Bridge Day festivals. Probably because of its height (and lack of barriers), the bridge has regularly attracted suicide jumpers. Gallery See also 50 State Quarters List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in West Virginia List of bridges in the United States by height List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia List of highest bridges List of suicide sites Midland Trail, a nearby National Scenic Byway National Register of Historic Places listings in Fayette County, West Virginia New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, the park surrounding the bridge References and notes External links Bridge Day (official site) Bridge Day History New River Gorge Bridge at Bridges & Tunnels New River