I made the mistake of Googling Dogface Bridge Indiana. Yikes ! Tons of videos and websites about it being Haunted.
The bridge is still there as of 14 Nov. 2018.
Mike, loved your description of the "soggy graham cracker" deck.
Btw, I did not swipe it.
Yes, the first pic is awesome, BUT the bridge is truly gorgeous!!!
I believe the house at driveway is now derelict. The deck on the bridge is terrible. Also, North-side name plate got swiped.
Guy is right. I wouldn't walk across this. The south-end side of the deck is a real hazard. North-end side is better. I went about half way and chickened out.
Lots of debris on this bridge. In bad shape.
Bridge looks about the same now as in 2006, except northside plate gone (Aholes!!). Had a blast and was creeped out by the bouncy deck.
This bridge has been rehabbed again in 2018, a modified concrete overlay deck, and the structure was painted.
An article from 2009 describing the restoration that was 'undone' by the tractor:
https://www.timessentinel.com/news/local_news/holliday-road-...
Holliday road bridge now open
By Andrea Hirsch/Times Sentinel managing editor Jul 15, 2009
Zionsville Times Sentinel
A bridge on Holliday Road that was considered unsafe, was repaired and is now open to the Zionsville community.
The bridge, which passes over Little Eagle Creek, runs through a wooded residential area between County Road 975 East and U.S. 421 on the north side of Zionsville. It has been closed since May of 2006 after the Boone County Highway Department said the bridge did not meet highway regulations.
“After we conducted our bridge inspection, the bridge reached the point where it was rated less than a 3-ton limit which means anything more than 3-tons in weight couldn’t cross it,” said Tom Kouns, highway supervisor for the Boone County Highway Department. “The bridge got so bad that it actually got below the 3-ton point which meant small cars would be the only thing that would be able to cross the bridge safely.”
The County Highway department conducts an inspection of all bridges, overpasses and county roads every two years. Once a bridge is rated under a 3-ton limit, the road is closed for repairs.
Kouns said the bridge, which has been in place for approximately 100 years, has needed to be repaired at least one other time in its existence. He said many years ago, a concrete truck went through the bridge and collapsed part of it.
Due to the very poor condition of the bridge in 2006, Kouns estimated that the repairs would cost approximately $350,000. The money was budgeted from the Cumulative Bridge Fund the county has in place. He said the bridge needed to be structurally upgraded including new planking, sand blasting and replacing rusted-out parts. In the end, the bridge cost the county $415,000; $65,000 over budget.
“It’s not uncommon to go over budget on a bridge that old,” he said. “No matter how hard you look at a 100-year old bridge, you don’t know exactly what needs to be done until you start taking it apart. The basic structure basically needed basically to be replaced.”
Bernardin Lochmueller and Associates, an engineering firm based out of Evansville, designed the bridge repairs.
“The bridge was getting to the point of being in bad shape,” Jim Gulick, the firm’s chief engineer said. “The county knew it was in bad shape and they wanted to do the necessary repairs to reserve it.”
Gulick said there was a lot of corrosion at the bottom line of the structure, meaning that the base bottom needed to be replaced.
“With time, bridges deteriorate,” he said. “They rust and loose their strength. We inspected the bridge, determined what was wrong, created a plan of action and implemented plans to repair it.”
After a plan was in action, Trisler Construction, a local contractor that has repaired other bridges in Boone County, was assigned to fix the bridge, which began in September 2007. Because the bridge was not heavily traveled upon, the county did not issue a detour. The bridge repair was completed and opened in April 2009. It can now hold 20 tons or more, Kouns said.
“I am very confident this bridge is now safe for motorists,” Kouns said.
Unfortunately, this small stone arch has been taken out and replaced by an ugly culvert.
I was just at this location in October 2018 the bridge is gone. There is a little bit of metal in the photos I posted. Don't know whether it got taken out in a flood or what.
I have a photo of the barricade that is 500 feet from the bridge. I chose to not post it due to obscenities on it.
People probably don't consider the damage water can do. This is one very good example of it. Hey Ron, thanx again!!
This bridge is now closed for rehabilitation. Traffic will be detoured using the adjacent exit ramp and a newly paved section of roadway to get traffic south of the bridge. The bridge will remain closed through the summer of next year, and local media has been alerting motorists. The rehabilitation will include a new bridge deck, barrier walls meeting current code, replacing severely deteriorated members and components, and a full cleaning and repainting.
The west approach from Marr Road in Columbus has been all cleared out over the last year or two and a second siding added back to this bridge. Looks like it's used by someone for parking railroad cars when needed.
That's definitely a streetcar track curving to a dedicated span.
The scale of the image made me think it's a bridge over Potts Ditch, but according to https://www.greenfieldin.org/residents/history-of-greenfield... the National Road bridge over Potts Ditch is a still-extant stone arch.
So I think Tony has the right bridge, and an image of the replacement bridge in https://books.google.com/books?id=Hzcf1FrK3fgC&pg=PA27&dq=gr... seems to match span lengths somewhat.
Tony, I suspect you have more information to go on than I do - but just looking at the photos I can't see that those two are the same span.
The "sidewalk" on the left in the tall photo sure looks like it is a completely separate span.
And although the view angle is compressing the distance, the rest of the image indicates it was not taken with a long focal-length lens. With that in mind both spans in the tall photo do not look like they could be as long as the span in the wide photo.
On the hill in the background are very straight lines - trolley tracks? Or just wagon tracks? With that, and the tracks on the near side of the bridge, it does not appear the bridge webs could be noticeably taller than a person. Yet the people standing on the bridge in the wide photos indicate the webs on that span are taller than the people.
Neither photo is very good quality, but even so the "lay of the land" doesn't seem to match. The position and size of the trees, the width of the abutment, the height of the roadbed above the fields to the side all suggest it's not the same place.
Then the bridge itself. The left side web in the tall photo does not look like a bowstring truss. Maybe it's just splotches on the poor quality photo - but just doesn't match up.
So - I'm not going to shout "You're wrong" because you may have lots of other data that can prove they really are the same bridge. I'm just looking at the images and what I see sure doesn't look like it can be the same bridge.
That's my opinion - which may be worth no more than the paper it written on. Erm - it's not even on paper. Uh oh.
Looks like they added a culvert pipe and raised the low water crossing sometime in the last 8 years. Maybe that is why they changed the road name.
It's an interesting virtual drive to the "real" crossing.
I was on an old Harly 125 cc with a friend of mine, In the year 1964. We were riding down 10 th street west and came Up to this bridge going to fast and did not know the road stops right after you go past this bridge. Not enough time to stop, and we crashed into the guard rail. The crash knocked me out briefly, my friend got scratched up, wore no helmet ts. We were lucky not hurt worse.
Could be a later re-encasement.
Some conflicting appearances here. The bridge is dated 1929 but the public domain photos purported to be of its construction are from 1904. Was there more than one stage to its construction?
If you continue on this road to the north west it will cross a set of tracks that makes a steep and somewhat washed out portion north side. That is doable but it will bring you back to Tanner's Creek on a true Creek crossing. I turned around. A truck or some awd vehicles with ground clearance are advised.
It is now open to vehicular traffic.
Been two years since I last visited. Still looks like it's gonna take a drink.
There is no longer any road to this bridge, gotta walk through a field. Nifty.
Just got back from a visit. Wow, no repairing this guy. Looks like it will be washed away next big flood. Thanx to Ron Enlow for the tour!!!
I have never been in the casino, but I know lots who have and I'll find out if it's still there. Doubt it though.
This bridge is a mystery bridge. Apparently there was (still is?) a bowstring pony truss located at the French Lick Casino. Anybody know anything about this one?
I'm guessing that when the sidewalks were added the substructure was changed from stone (Dry laid stone was very uncommon in Indiana) and the deck may have been upgraded. It likely had wooden stringers to begin with. The stone substructure looked pretty rough in the older photo and was likely from the earlier wooden bridge.
It's the same bridge... The walkways were added at a later date. The date given is only a circa (guestimate) date, but I did read that there was a wooden bridge (not sure if it was covered) that didn't last very long. It's definitely a tubular arch, and although the odds-makers would say it's a WIBCo product... A Rezner would not be out of the question. Come to think of it if it's a later version of the Rezner design it would have been manufactured by WIBCo. after their purchase of the Ohio Bridge Company.
Both of these photos came from out of an old book and the resolution is pretty lousy.
Oh - and the arch seen in the second photo _really_ does not look like it is the same bridge as the first photo.
There just isn't enough resolution... The original doesn't have great detail - but judging from the half-tone screening I found in the image it's all we've got. Unless someone can find the photo the newspaper used!
There are a lot of what appear to be lateral floor beams. More often than just at the verticals - which is odd. Having them rest on the lower chord would be a bad idea. Maybe they are just there to tie the deck together?
Regarding the top chord. I think it is round - or nearly round. The shadow line is so consistent at about half-way up that it can't be a flat sided beam. Maybe it's sort of a Phoenix type built up something.
I can see diagonals between verticals in a truss pattern. The top of some of the verticals look "forked", like maybe they are attached to both sides of the top chord.
I sure wish I could see more details!
The shadow line on the arch of the first picture makes it look like a Rezner but, I think 1880 is too late.
Thoughts?
Art S.
Great pix!! Makes me wanna go see it!
Brendan,the video won't play.Where can I see the video?
The stone pier under the truss span appears to be part of the earlier span and from it's shape and placement I would say it was for a swing span which was done away with. I hate to say it but those trees growing from the unused pier need to go as they will destroy it.
Just to the west of this bridge was an interesting timber bridge over the old railroad bed. Unfortunately it has been removed and replaced by dirt fill.
Yes, this bridge looks damn good! Name plates are back and it is quite the place to visit!
Got my first walk across the restored railroad bridge. An amazing job was done to restore the bridge. Man, those plate girder beams are massive. You can't see the river until you walk across the the through truss. A couple piers still have trees growing out of them. The deck is plates of concrete, and don't be alarmed by some of them vibrating. I wonder why this bridge doesn't have ice breaker piers.
I saw construction signs at each end of the bridge. It appears the deck may have been rehabilitated. Hope I'm right. The rest of the bridge is labeled 6 out of 9. It could use a painting soon. Forgot who posted it, yes these metal through truss bridges sure do make road trips fun.
For some reason the Pine Bluff Bridge is closed in winter. This according to signs at each road to the bridge, and gates at top of each hill. I wonder if its due to the treacherous winding steep grades at each end, or the bridge turns brittle in winter. Also I find the 1915 date questionable? Don't know if any Howe trusses were built after 1900. The center pier is concrete instead of stone.
Guy is trying to weasel his way out of charges: http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-p...
Not everyone understands, friend Anonymous. There are many bridges I'd love to visit if I had a TARDIS.
TARDIS. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space". The time machine from Doctor Who.
Once again I say "?"
With a sonic screwdriver I'm betting I could build one myself.
Agreed Nathan... And wouldn't this look just Dandy sitting in a park! A design I would love to see used again!!
It appears the road has had it's name changed to Creekside Drive. When I posted this it was shown on most maps as "Happy Hollow Road".
?
This is a TARDIS bridge. One that I would like to travel back in time to see because its very interesting and no bridges like this survive today!
Bridge currently closed. A local told me that an I-beam had rusted through, and they were told that bridge would be repaired. Hope so!!
That is the Freedom Truss Bridge on the right.
Most recent NBI says it was replaced in 02.
I added a streetview here, but it looks to me like this bridge has been replaced; or possibly had a major refurbishment.
The information Ed stated was for a Brookville bridge. Not this one. It was the forth street bridge that had the new cement bridge that was lost to the 1913 flood. This location had a covered bridge at the time of the 1913 flood. It was the only Brookville bridge that survived that flood. It did however have both approaches washed away leaving Brookville stranded except by land to the Connersville Area. The covered bridge was known as either the Whitcomb Bridge or the Waterworks Bridge.
Yeah, I didn't see it here. According to Sulzer's "Ghost Railroads of Indiana", there was a "general track elevation" between Indianapolis and Richmond during 1909-1910. There's a map of the original track layout on page 87.
It would be an interesting area to explore -- there are the remains of a few more overpasses in the Cambridge City area that aren't documented here, but were likely girders set on concrete abutments, which are still extent, with the fill removed.
Jeff,the bridge you mentioned isn't listed on Bridgehunters and it is a part of this trail as you can see on satellite.
This is in Henry County, IN... Not Wayne County
If you swing the street view over to the right, you'll see another abandoned bridge, over County Rd 650 W.
That's right - "twi-ken-ham." And they did replace the railings in the renovation with ones that are more sympathetic to the design!
Special thanks to Reann Poray of the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library for the access to the wonderful photos of the bridges in and around Plainfield!
Bridge is open, at least since Tom Hoffman, stated February 2018. Looking Good!!
Mmmm. Taters
Bridge is replaced by a mob.
Apparently this was fabricated from a storage unit from the city jail. (I do not know anything about the storage unit) It was fabricated by Graber Post Buildings from nearby Montgomery Indiana. I got my information from Kip Kelly of the Washington Parks Department.
This article from the 29 Jun 1901 Indianapolis News confirms that there were twin bridges here, and that a new bridge would be built to replace them both. The drawing doesn't much resemble the bridge that got built.
Continuing to research this, I found this site with photos of the Washington St. bridge as it was on the day of the 1913 flood. It is clearly not a wooden covered bridge.
http://nationalcalamityeaster1913flood.blogspot.com/2016/04/...
I find evidence that there were two bridges here at once: one that followed the old National Road alignment and another that followed the Washington St. alignment. The two map excerpts, from 1889 and 1903 (respectively, below), show it. I also found an 1852 map of Indiana, with an Indianapolis inset, at the Library of Congress that shows only one bridge, on the National Road alignment.
Does anybody have greater knowledge or research to share on this?
Here are some other photos of Manhattan Bridge
Great News!!! And I love the float!
Funds secured to repair the bridge:
http://www.reporter.net/news/local_news/commissioners-secure...
Yes, these pix do suck, but I'll try to get a little closer next time
Getting pix on IN 59 is like playing Frogger.
This bridge (Delaware County Bridge #226) was replaced in 2016.
Oops!! I mean DNR. Sorry
It appears, according to INDot, that this bridge will be relocated to Blue River Park near Shelbyville, on a pedestrian pathway. https://www.in.gov/activecalendar_dnr/displaymedia.aspx?what...
Alright Tony! Good to see you back at it!
Damn! A Busy bridge with lotsa vegetation around it. Will try to get REAL pix later in the fall.
This bridge has been closed with no reopening in the foreseeable future closure 10/5/2017
Will go back in the fall and get better photos. The Lemon Creek pony truss used to run parallel to this
This bridge:
https://bridgehunter.com/in/adams/bh45027/
will be moved here to replace the missing span as they are identical structures, and the remaining span currently will be rebuilt. As of January 2017, the project is currently in the fundraising stage.
There is conflicting information about who actually built this bridge. Some sources claim it was John Seal. This site along with several others claim it was George Reuss. What is the source of information to verify who the builder actually was?
All original material has been lost on this bridge anyway. The remains of the Indiana Bridge Co. truss seen in the B&W photos have been removed per more recent photos.
I'm in downtown Madison and need a bridge to cross a creek between the 2 hotels. About 100 ft crossing. Call 850-830-9579
Thank you
If there is any good news in all this lot, at least this bridge is in Indiana which means that there is a reasonable chance that it will be preserved if at all possible.
The bridge has been neglected lately. Area is grown up and the graffiti is getting a little outta control.
I don't think a welding torch'll fix this one. Don't look like it will be repaired. East end obviously collapsed, but looks like the west side was purposely busted through, maybe to keep four wheelers off it. There is no reason to repair this guy because it is basically an alley. The area floods so much too. The house on the west side now looks deserted.
I can confirm that the bridge rehabilitation contract has been awarded and that the pre-construction conference meeting has been scheduled. I suspect that construction activities will be starting shortly thereafter. The maintenance of traffic for Southbound US 41 during construction will likely be challenging for motorists; I hope that they will be patient, plan ahead, and give themselves extra travel time.
I would love to photograph this bridge. Does anyone know who owns the land? Is it owned by the Indiana Railroad or is it private property? I'm having a lot of trouble finding information.
Thanks for checking it out. Some of those arches can be rough to get to because of traffic or size of ditches.
Nothing left to show that a bridge was once there. I do know that Bridge Street did have a Through Truss we used to take when I was in High School (late 70's).
I fixed the coordinates on this bridge. It was listed at same location of IN 142 Little Rock Creek.
I returned today and rechecked. It is no longer an arch. The road is very busy and there is not much of an angle to get a good picture so sorry about crappy photos. The 142 Kivett and 142 Little Rock Creek bridges are still arches.
Looks like the same bridge. Did you check to see if the arch was there?
There are no news articles or press releases; in my responsibilities as the Vincennes District Bridge Inspection Supervisor, I coordinate our inspection findings with the project managers who establish budget planning and proposed scopes of work. Contract plans and specs are done and this rehabilitation was already scheduled for letting earlier this year; contractors are likely working on their bid packages. This bridge is to get a new deck and heavily deteriorated steel components will get replaced in-kind.
GREAT! Tell us about it!!! :-D Do you have an article?
Great news!!!
This bridge is not scheduled to be dismantled. This bridge is scheduled for a comprehensive rehabilitation project.