Before restoration, showing the other "twin".
Before the concrete bridge was built in 1906, an iron railroad bridge sat directly over this bridge. The West abutment from that span remains.
Photo taken by Anthony Dillon
BH Photo #115555
It was a county road bridge until the road was realigned and the bridge abandoned. The road now runs parallel to the creek on the East side until it meets US36, and a new bridge wasn't needed to cross the creek.
The original railroad bridge was also wrought iron and sat directly over the highway bridge. When the concrete arches were constructed in 1906, the iron rail bridge was removed but the imposing West abutment still remains.
It was one of two known highway Baltimore trusses built by the Indiana Bridge Company of Indianapolis, shortly before they relocated to Muncie. The other span still stands abandoned in Martin County.
Does anyone know what this bridge was used for before it was abandoned and restored?
This bridge has been rehabilitated now. My company CLR Inc. completed the job. The floor beams all had to be replaced with new ones, which required riveting the built up beams just as the original ones were. New stringer beams had to be installed as the old ones were almost non-existing. Many repairs were made to the trusses as well and a new wooden floor installed. It is scheduled to be incorporated into a walking trail at a later date. It is a very beautiful bridge now.
New and old plaques were installed on each end of the bridge. Some of the original plaques were missing, so some of them had to be replicated. A new, heavy handrail was installed, which was riveted together by Ross Brown of Carroll County.
The bridge has been renovated within the past year. It is still closed to vehicle traffic but will be incorporated into a trail eventually.
This bridge is known as the "Twin Bridge". It originally had an iron railroad bridge that sat directly on top of it. That bridge was replaced in 1906 by the concrete arches that still exist behind this bridge. One of the abutments of the original bridge still exist. The 1906 date given for this bridge is incorrect. It was actually built in 1886 by the Indiana Bridge Co.(Indianapolis)in the short time before they moved to Muncie. It is a rare highway Baltimore thru truss. They built another one in Martin County over Indian Creek that is also still standing but abandoned. The Twin Bridge is scheduled for rehabilitation, possibly even as I write this. The following picture shows the iron roadway bridge and the concrete railroad arches.
Webmaster's note: The photo that was here has been incorporated into the main site.
These are the origional twin Bridges at Danville