Great shot. You should post this to the Shelhorn Bridge page instead of just here in the comments.
Indeed Nathan, that is the same bridge!
I visited this bridge a few months ago, and will be adding it to HistoricBridges.org soon. Anyway in researching my page for the bridge, I had reviewed Dr. James Cooper's notes... he does not have any detailed history for this bridge, but he does indicate that this bridge was constructed in 1920. I also found a bridge that I think is this bridge as shown in a Luten catalog from 1924 as I am showing here. As you can see the railings are different. The railings seen on the bridge today, which resemble a design I think that Indiana was using in the 1940s, may be the reason for the 1946 date (railing and maybe deck replacement).
Very helpful; thanks guys!
This bridge is actually inside the Lake county fairgrounds.
...And an incorrect date can be something as simple as them repaving the deck!
Indianapolis has a large number of Luten arches built between 1900 and 1925. Some of them (http://bridgehunter.com/in/marion/4900229/) have dates that are from much later, probably representing a major rehab.
Is that 1946 date correct? Per Wikipedia, that's the year Luten died, at age 76. Was he really working right up to the end?
The bridge piers still stand, but have suffered from erosion. The piers(2) do not look the same as those shown in the photograph. A low-head dam was built just upstream of the piers in the mid-1950s.
I question whether this photograph is the bridge over the Flatrock River at this location.
I live across the street from the lot with the dam and remaining piers.
Photos by P.J.Hana, an acquaintance of mine. Photos made 10 August, 2017.
The east dam abutment looks similar to the west abutment shown.
Thank you Michael!
I added additional information today provided to me by Professor Jim Cooper who had done extensive research of records in most Indiana Counties. Needless to say he was delighted to see a photo of the bridge and know that at least 1 Lenticular truss was indeed constructed in the Hoosier State!It was built in 1883 and no surprise that Berlin IBC was the builder. Those massive abutments cost about 5 times as much as the superstructure, But they lasted until the replacement bridge was raised in 2000! And it looks like in current satellite imagery that part of the larger West abutment might still remain today.
I had actually been looking for a Lenticular that I was told existed in nearby Shelby County, but so far have found that many of the earlier bridges there were Bowstrings. But hey... you never know, another one may show up some day!
This is an incredible find, thank you Tony! In all my research on Berlin Iron Bridge Co. I've never found any indication that anything had been built farther west then Ohio (Excepting Texas of course).
We can spot a few unique design details here: The compression members are rolled, not built up, and we can see that the endpost in built up with battens. Its remarkably similar to this extant one in NY:
Agreed Robert! This one has no business being on this site!
I am hoping to visit Indiana someday, due to the unrivaled collection of historic bridges there. I will probably bypass this one though...
Would it be possible to post some of these listings over on www.uglybridges.com. Despite the name, ugly bridges is a good website for those who like bridges in general, namely modern concrete overpasses. You can also cross list historic bridges between bridgehunter and ugly bridges. Ugly bridges is actually a good resource that is being underutilized.
That way, we can reserve Bridgehunter for bridges that are historic and notable (including modern bridges that are notable such as cable stayed, network arches, quality replicas, etc).
Would have been about 1916 Donna, as the current Luten Bridge was started then.
I found an old pic of it and created a page here:
What year was the metal bridge tore down on Michigan Street ?
Yeah, I'm finding out that it's anything but Bullet-proof Nathan! And I had inquired about punishment after Lawrence County demolished 2 Select spans "In-house", for which I never did get a straight answer! The process was good of intention, but even from the beginning nowhere near perfect. I was disappointed with quite a few wrong determinations that the overpaid Minnesota consulting firm made. While we were able to get some of the decisions reversed, others remained the same. I had even mentioned at the time about the ability to add another structure to the "Select" list anytime that one is lost, but nothing came of that. I do think that overall it has still mostly been a success, but wish it were even more than that! And yes, little plain slabs like this one are harder to make a case for when compared to a truss bridge or a graceful set of arches.
While this bridge is (in my opinion) not the most beautiful or significant historic bridge, I was deeply disturbed to read that the bridge is to be demolished and replaced, even though it is a Select Bridge under the Indiana Historic Bridge Management Plan. This will be the second bridge in Indiana that I know of which has found a way to ignore the Select listing which was supposed to guarantee preservation of the bridge. The first one was an exceedingly rare Melan arch in Indianapolis. Therefore, having seen this happen not once but twice now, it is clear that the concept of Indiana's Historic Bridge Management plan has a loophole that no doubt will be increasingly exploited by owners and consulting engineers. http://www.batesvilleheraldtribune.com/news/local_news/exper...
Maybe was but it was partially wiped out. Probably another pony truss bridge.....
Looks like it's still in use on a private lane, also looks as though the creek crosses the road again... Wonder if there is another old bridge on this road!
This bridge has been extremely altered on the left side. Its also listed on shaard.
This what gives me hope, that we haven't found everything in Indiana Yet.
Glad to have you with us Mike! You can always contact me with any questions! And I'm sure most of the other good people here would tell you the same!
I got to see this place I moved from indy in ,79 to Ky I am new to bridge hunters I can't stop looken!
Harley, I can pretty much assure you that any of these state built spans from the 30's and 40's did indeed replace earlier structures! Most state highways were important early roads that were taken over by the state starting in the 1920's, and many of those had bridges that were quickly deemed inadequate for heavier traffic.
Our county board soon recognized the necessity of better crossings over the streams of the county. At the June session of 1870, seven thousand dollars was appropriated to erect a 130-foot iron span bridge on stone work near Thorntown, over Sugar Creek; also five thousand dollars to erect a similar structure over Eagle Creek at Zionsville, and four thousand dollars for one over Sugar Creek at Mechanicsburg. The erection of these three structures were all made out of general county revenue. For ten years our county fathers were content without further bridge accommodations.
If this was built in the 1940's, there must have been one previous.
What are/were the brick walls with arches north and south of the bridge?
Severns was an early settler who for a time lived in caves near the present day Patoka.
Is there a cave, called Severns Cave near this area of the bridge? My cousin is wanting to know. Thanks!
It took these videos a week from it's removal. I returned later and found a gaping hole. Unfortunately, no vehicles with "CLR" around. Don't have any other info.
This bridge was on CR 300 W; just west (downstream) of the NYC double track bridge over the Iroquois River, itself just a short distance west of the US 41 bridge over the river. I grew up in this area.
These are a few pics I took of the Williams Bridge back on August 10, 2013
Yes, that might be behind the confusion... Road bridge is what's documented here.
The little bridge on the road over the creek is hard to see. The railroad bridge has steel stringers.
Dave, I took the pics of this little span several years ago before I had any real interest in concrete structures... And even now that is mostly just arches. I don't think I could crawl under it if I wanted to, but it's definitely not a steel stringer.
NBI has this little bridge as a steel stringer. I don't see a tee beam as it's listed.
Tried to access this bridge to take pictures, however despite online map listings, CR 1150N, once west from the CR 800W T-intersection, becomes nearly impassible. Even 4 wheel drive vehicles or ATVs wouldn't be recommended. Sullivan County no longer maintains this section, nor does it maintain CR 875W. The bridge may still be intact, but the only recommended access is by foot (and in very dry weather, as the area is prone to flooding).
The road, "Farmersburg Street", had been closed (and actually removed) due to mining. A couple of years ago, however, a gravel road was put back in place, mainly for farming access on the formerly mined land. While rough, it does lead up to the remaining paved road just south of the bridge, and the bridge can be driven over. The barriers on the north side have been mostly removed from the roadway (and can be passed easily from either direction). While the "Road Closed" and "Blasting Area" signs remain, they're becoming quickly overgrown.
Fleeta I sent you an email
May need some help on iron bridge structures, this bridge
is highly significant in the evolution of the Indianapolis
Bridge company - Indiana Bridge Company.
Planning to put this bridge on National Register fist, then
Sparksville.
Problem with river erosion-Commissioners and Indot will probably want to destroy this structure if possible, not realizing the significance of the this structure as they did with the Post combination truss to engineering history.
We can arrest and build bigger jails and court rooms
but we can't spend a dime on anything which might attract
someone to visit Jackson County which might provide someone
a job.
Interested in the interaction of various bridge companies and the personal relationship with the various players in the Indiana Bridge Company.
Sad news of this loss... The bridge was poorly maintained for decades, but still could have been rehabilitated! A very scenic location has been scarred by a slab of pure ugliness!
Lawrence County fails yet again!
Bridge has been removed now, and replaced with a boring, modern bridge. Great job Lawrence county:/
The road was indeed realigned for the new bridge, based on what my father has told me. Portions of the old road still exist just off the new alignment.
Excellent that their are pix on the way. Boo that it is damaged. I have tried to get permission to see this bridge for quite a while with no luck.
Interesting that this is heralded as a Section 106 success:
http://www.achp.gov/docs/Section106SuccessStory_MiltonMadiso...
Damaged again, trucker caught:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/indiana/articles/201...
Ron has sent me some photos of this Bedstead truss, which unfortunately has suffered a near catastrophic failure due to flooding. It would take someone removing the trusses and having them repaired. This bridge is located in a rather remote location. I will add the photos ASAP.
I have some pictures of this bridge if interested. It recently lost it's middle section of concrete to high water. Have pics of before and after.
This is a Whipple truss, despite the fact that the interpretive sign depicts a covered bridge.
My buddy Tom Hall had talked about this bridge a few years ago but never got a chance to photograph it, good to see some pics!
This bridge is VERY visible from I65, in the middle of a windmill field. Also, just around 1,000 feet to the east, on ditch, is this abutment.
This is one Skewed dude!
Wow... Nice rehabilitation on this one!
I am interested in purchasing the Hoagland Ditch Bridge in White County Indiana.
Gregory M. Plunk
2586 N 1200 East Rd
Mansfield, Il. 61854
(217) 493-4347
They have closed the road I believe they are going to replace the bridge but it was a surprise so not in the budget
http://www.pal-item.com/story/news/local/2016/04/14/crumblin...
The top photo is not in Danville, however I did finally find an old photo of a yearbook from 1937 of The Central Normal College In Danville, with the bridge in the background. Resolution is not great but you can make out the adbutments with overhead railbed.
Bridge took some major hits during flash flooding this week.
http://wdrb.images.worldnow.com/images/13933650_G.jpg
http://www.wdrb.com/story/35474770/images-heavy-rain-prompts...
Time for solid I-Beam Headache bars since this has happened at least 3 times now! And they need to be far enough away as not to disrupt with photography.
PARKE COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - The Parke County Sheriff’s Office is looking for information in regards to damage done to the Jackson Covered Bridge located on Bdale Road over Sugar Creek.
Deputies report on Tuesday around 11:30 p.m. they were called to the bridge to investigate the damage.
They report the damage is consistent with a large truck and they believe a semi attempted to go through the bridge. Damage shows the vehicle made it part way through.
Officials are looking for a dark blue semi that should have damage to the upper most part of the cab.
If you have any information, contact the Parke County Sheriff’s Office at (765) 569-5413.
http://www.wthitv.com/story/35451055/jackson-covered-bridge-...
Yeah... Need a Gondola to get through there right now!
Nice shot Janis, any ghost trains or boats!?
Salt trucks strike again!
Apparently this bridge is slated to be demolished sometime in the near future. Work is to be done by IDOT. I don't know if it will happen this year or in 2018.
Bad news for all 3 Noble County RR overpasses.
http://m.kpcnews.com/news/latest/new_era/article_f7096416-25...
SHAARD coordinates show that the road might have been realigned. Very large deviation, if it did.
This Tee beam is interesting because of the Brick that is layed into the side of the bridge. Not sure if its decoration or if it actually helps support the structure.
The gospel of Jesus Christ Shall be preached!!!!!
Looks like its about to get cleaned up and used again for a trail finally.
http://bernewitness.com/news/indiana-economic-development-co...
I think all truss bridges under replacement should be disassembled and stored for at least 10 years!
Tree removal on the north side of the bridge has started.
It just seems that some visitors are hesitant to do more than post a comment, which increases the work that the webmaster has to do. It's really not very hard to add a photo or edit the entry, actually surprisingly easy.
I'm just happy to have the input... Especially from a county engineer! I wish all county engineers would show the interest in their historic bridges that Mr. Einselen in Miami County does! That would be an awesome thing!!
If he is not a registered user, he might not be able to. Hopefully he will sign up. Indiana has an incredible selection of bridges, so it would be great to have another Indiana contributor on here.
Why not add the name to the bridge entry?
This bridge is identified as B-90 in the county inventory.
This bridge is identified as B-99 in the county bridge inventory and was locally referred to as "Thunder Bridge" due to the wood plank deck "thundering" as vehicles crossed the structure.
I assume then that the beautiful cast portal bracings have probably survived in one form or another.
This bridge had several components that were wrought iron. The contractor allowed local blacksmithing enthusiasts to salvage much of the wrought iron. The wrought iron was then distributed to several historical sites that had blacksmiths for use in the blacksmith shops.
This bridge is locally referred to as the ZINN BRIDGE.
Can you give me the date of construction? Do you have any other history, on this bridge?
I grew up and still live one block away...when I was a kid I used to run over to see the Pennsylvania R.R.'s Jeffersonisn and Spirit of St. Louis steam by.
I am an historian/researcher for the Irvington Historical Society and am currently doing a history of my neighborhood.
Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
I can be reached at this email address or by phone at 317-357-5594
Thanks, Ron Huggler
Good News
Indiana Landmarks has decided to spend $121,000 repairing the bridge before turning it over to the township who will spend more to make it a part of the trail.
Read
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/35123298/revamp-o...
for details.
I drove by this one a few times...
The way-too-heavy concrete deck was falling off of it, but the trusses were in pretty good shape... Would have made a nice trail bridge somewhere!
http://www.bcdemocrat.com/2017/04/06/a_bridge_apart/
Can someone copy over the article and pictures or post it in the news section? I'd rather not fill the forum with it.
Sincerely,
Art S.
-- You don't have a photo of Cumberland Road bridge in Noblesville, IN. Attached is one from 2014. Just FYI, Doug.
You should have checked out the Hays Cemetery just South of the bridge Nathan... That place is creepy, even in the daytime!
I saw an older local resident at this bridge who also conveyed the story of this bridge being haunted, although he also said it was most certainly just a story (as a scientific person I wholeheartedly agree). I had fun showing him Jim Barker's "secret" rehab plaque (he hides them in the inside of the endpost channel), he had never noticed it before.
Thanks Tony;
I set the coordinates to the location where I believe the bridge crossed Salt Creek.
Bing shows the road coming from the Maumee area up almost to this crossing. it would have intersected Blue Creek Road a bit north of this crossing. I will also add the Maumee Road over Sycamore Branch 1935 bridge.
Sorry everybody. It has been replaced with... rocks? Thursday's Bloomington Herald-Times had an article titled "Goodbye, Yellowwood Road", subbed 'After almost 30 years of plans and protests, state forest's neighbors forced to face loss of their rustic, rutted roadway'. Will get pix asap.
It's Paragon Road, and whatever was there previous it was replaced the same year as this one, 1974. Both of the modern spans are nearly identical in size, so one would assume that the older Paragon Road bridge might have been similar in size to the Blue Bluff structure.
Ok. It goes into the backside of 37 by Morgan-Monroe State Forest. I don't know anything on this one, but I will scan the horizons and see what I can find.
Thanks for the info Mike. South of Paragon is a road with a few sharp curves(also known for flooding), then crosses the White River on a modern bridge.
I think the deck of Blue Bluff was just wood. CR390E is also known as Henderson-Ford Road. It was a thru truss, like Blue Bluff. I can't find any pix of it. We used to go there a lot when I was a kid just to mess around. I guess a log truck fell thru it around 1968. I'm not sure which item your talking about south of Paragon. I grew up between Mooresville and Waverly. We used to frequent a place there known as Southlake. When we were done swimming, we used to travel to the store in Waverly for snacks and the like. There was a thru truss there, but I don't recall much of it.
A neat structure that once existed. Glad the public library could provide these photos. Is that deck corrugated metal or something? I've been to this location and the road is heavily traveled. I've also been wondering what bridges existed on CR 390E just to the east, and the one south of Paragon. And does anybody know what type of bridge was in Waverly? Driven to that location with a bridge marked on a map. There was an old One Lane Bridge sign and saw that the bridge had been removed and not replaced.
This bridge was replaced last year.
Well there have been a few bridges at this location. First there was a 3-span Kennedy covered bridge well over 500 feet in length. It had a short 20 year life being destroyed by a storm like in the 1890s. All this according to the George Gould guidebook. I'd say this through truss was built after the storm and replaced by the stringer bridge in 1950. Then that bridge was replaced like last year.
Why would they have done a 1990 inspection on a bridge that had been closed for over 40 years? I will discount the traffic count of 100 as a WAG.
Sounds plausible to me Don... Thanks for the great detective work!
And yes, I agree that an edit post feature would be nice if possible. Many times I have written a long-winded comment and posted it... Only to find that I made a typo or other gaffe of some kind!
There was a bridge at 39.068438, -86.300785. It was gone before 1998 Google Earth imagery, so it may have been in place for 1992 and 1996 NBI.
The bridge doesn't exactly cross Middle Fork, but it's road begins near Maumee Rd, and may have been an extension of Maumee rd. at one time. Bing calls it N. county road 1300W.
In fact, a bridge in Jackson County on the same road has been listed as a Maumee rd bridge, over Combs creek.
So, maybe we can assume that the Maumee Rd. over Sycamore concrete bridge (1935) (NBI) (at 39.049813, -86.288802) is also along this road between the geo coordinates I gave for the lost bridge area and the Combs creek bridge, and get a 2 for 1 bridge locations.
Anyone agree?
The Sycamore bridge can be seen in Bing and both Sycamore and the lost bridge area can be seen in Google Earth 3/30/2005 imagery.
Note to James: Is it possible to add an edit post option to the forum?
Glad you got to it Mike! I have some rather poor quality County highway department pics of it taken I guess when it was still open, but I decided not to post them here. Good to know it still exists!
