Fall River Bridge
Facts
- Overview
- Through truss bridge over Fall River on 21.7-N.1 Local, 2.9 mi. west of Neodesha
- Location
- Wilson County, Kansas
- Status
- Replaced by a new bridge
- History
- Built 1914
- Design
- Pratt through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 120.0 ft.
Total length: 122.0 ft.
Deck width: 15.7 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.4 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +37.43217, -95.72309 (decimal degrees)
37°25'56" N, 95°43'23" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/259064/4146297 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Neodesha
- Average daily traffic (as of 2013)
- 30
- Inventory numbers
- KS 001030995106527 (Kansas local bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 18673 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of June 2016)
- Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 21.9 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- July 12, 2018: Updated by Dave King: Added categories "Pin-connected", "A-frame portal"
- July 31, 2017: New photos from Nick Schmiedeler
- January 23, 2017: Updated by Robert Elder: Doomed.
- February 5, 2010: Updated by Robert Elder: Adjusted GPS Coordinates.
- February 27, 2008: Updated by Robert Elder: Edited "Design"
Sources
- Robert Elder - robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com
- KHRI - Kansas Historical Resources Inventory.
- Nick Schmiedeler - nick [at] nickschmiedeler [dot] com
Comments
Hi Priscilla:
Thanks for the update. I figured that this bridge would not be here much longer. Wilson County is now nearly devoid of historic highway bridges.
This bridge has been replaced.
Tony:
I have often thought that it looked a bit like a Western Bridge Co. plaque.
I have never been able to confirm any Stupp Brothers bridges in Kansas but I would not be too surprised if they built a few. They were working just across the state line in Missouri so it is conceivable that they might have wanted to expand their area of operations in to Kansas. I just don't know if they actually did or not.
Doesn't that kinda look like a Stupp Bros. or Western Plaque Robert!
Thanks for doing a field visit.
No, I didn't see any in the area, this one is still very much open, maybe a little bit more time left than expected .....
Any sign of new bridge construction? This one probably does not have much time left.
This bridge is now doomed as per the KHRI link above. Looks like this bridge will join the nearby Bull's Ford Bridge in the "lost" category.
In the 1980s, Wilson County had a great collection of Marsh arch and metal truss bridges. Every Marsh arch in the county has been demolished. When this bridge is demolished, it will likely be the last remaining truss bridge in the county (save for one or two abandoned ones that were transferred to private landowners).
The county will still retain three railroad truss bridges. By contrast, Montgomery County immediately to the south retains a great collection of historic bridges, although many of them are abandoned.
The KSHS page shows that this bridge once had at least one plaque. Unfortunately there is no close-up photo that would indicate what the plaque says.
http://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?tab=details&in=205-0000-...
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ks/wilson/1030995106527/
This bridge might not be as lost as we think. It was reportedly placed on the ground intact nearby. A photograph has surfaced on Facebook showing the bridge sitting on dry land and overgrown with weeds. It might still be hiding in the trees if somebody wants to do a field check.