Gartin Ford Bridge

No...it was built for road use Chris.

Although plate girders were far less common on roadways than trusses, there are a few sprinkled here and there.

This span was likely built by the Central States Bridge Company of Indianapolis. Central States built many of these in the first couple of decades of the 20th century, and a nearby plate girder in Shelby County is one of theirs.

I missed this one before when I visited the Galbreath Bridge just across the line in Bartholomew County, so I will have to check it out the next time I get that way.

I thought I had seen this bridge on here before, that's why I didn't take too many pictures. It looks like brand new, and I believe it has new concrete abutments and supports. It looks like an old railroad bridge to me, is that a possibility?

Now What in the world! I sure didn't know that the county fixed this bridge up, painted, replaced the deck, and reopened this bridge for traffic until I saw this picture. I thought AECON Engineering wouldn't allow this. The bridge had been closed for at least two years because of either a cracked floor beam or other superstructure problems. The deck was probably concrete over corrogated metal which gets heavy and the metal rusts away. Thought it was going to the dumpster. That makes me wonder why one of the through trusses in the county could not have been restored for what it was built for. Like in the Robbins Ford, the trusses could have been worked on and the deck could have been replaced by steel for the weight of most traffic plus it is on a little used road. Plate girder is better than UCEB. Decatur County has thrown away most of its plate girder bridges, but AECON allowed let them to fix this one. I can give credit for this, but wonder why not one of the through trusses.