It is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and is the westernmost bridge over the James River in the metropolitan Richmond area that is open to pedestrians.

Built as a toll bridge in 1911, it was named for the nearby Westham Station of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway near the north end.

The privately held company which financed the bridge, Southampton Bridge Corporation, was headed by developer George Craghead Gregory, who also had plans to extend a streetcar line from an existing line at Westhampton Park (now the University of Richmond) to the suburban community of Bon Air.

Between the James River and Bon Air, Gregory controlled large land areas along the proposed rail line which he hoped to develop.

After years of problems maintaining the deck and pavement, as of 2008, a replacement was included in the limited number of high priority projects underway with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).