I have heard that there are no trees in Kansas. I have also heard that there are no historic bridges in Kansas. Either the trees are hiding behind the bridges, or the bridges are hiding behind the trees...
I lived in Kansas for years and still ended up making repeat trips to an area because bridges kept coming out of hiding. Don't feel bad for missing a bridge, it happens to all of us.
I even lived in Geary County and had no idea about what was hiding off of I 70...
Wow.....had I been in phone-network signal range at that time I might've thought to look for these on this website, just means another road trip !! Never a problem!!
To make matters even more interesting, there is another bridge over Doyle Creek immediately South of this one.
That's great news. On closer inspection, didn't look to be on the verge of collapse really, but another swift flood, you just never know.....this one is really hidden back there, I stumbled upon it by complete accident, driving down the length of Main St. in Peabody, thought it may be a new unknown bridge, and only today thought to see if a listing might be on this site, which it was with no previous photo. Kings and Queens!!!
WOW! (Okay, there I said it). Between the Hitchen Creek Bridge, the Cottonwood River Bridge, and this jewel, we seem to be experiencing Queenpost Week on Bridgehunter.
Don't let the diminutive size of this bridge fool you - this is a highly significant bridge. Kingpost and Queenpost pony trusses are becoming uncommon these days.
This Queenpost has some great features including latticed outriggers and fishbelly floor beams. This one could easily date from the 1880s. Even if it was built closer to 1900, it is still an important bridge. In truth, a construction date in the late 1870s is not completely out of the question. This bridge has been here for a long time!
Hidden in trees, indeed. Some odd uprights on this ol shorty, decking a mess, abutments sketchy, beams laid across both entries are chained to the bridge itself to try and keep folks off, imagine more than a few curious kids in this sleepy town have navigated their way through the "protective barrier" and across....interesting old thing
One reason that I have been so focused on Kansas is because so many bridges have been hiding there. No doubt about it, Kansas is a bit of a time-consuming place to bridge hunt. Many of our bridges are in remote areas. The journey is always worth the mud march though, especially when a long abandoned truss comes into view.