News

New book releases

This spring has seen the publication of some bridge-related books:

• A Bridge Worth Saving: A Community Guide to Historic Bridge Preservation gives step-by-step instructions for preserving truss bridges. I'm looking forward to reading this one.

• Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel: Minnesota's Historic Bridges is a timely guide to bridges in Minnesota.

• Historic Bridges: Evaluation, Preservation, and Management is a serious tome about historic bridge preservation. The price tag on this book puts it out of my league, but it might be worthwhile for professional engineers and historians.

• A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck isn't about bridges, but it does chronicle the life of an "accidental" railroad tycoon from Southeast Missouri. Louis Houck didn't know much about engineering, and it showed. His railroad lines and bridges were quite low budget and primitive, becoming the butt of many jokes. But he got the job done and had a profound impact on regional history.

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Assorted tidbits

• Another lawsuit has been filed over the Boonville Railroad Bridge. The Union Pacific Railroad wants to dismantle the bridge and move some of the approach spans to build a new bridge at Osage City. At issue is whether historic preservation requirements were sidestepped during the process of obtaining the permit for the project.
• Construction has started on the replacement for Kansas City's Paseo Bridge, while St. Louis has chosen a design firm for its new Mississippi River Bridge. Both cities have positioned their bridges as "landmark" or "signature" spans, but these cable-stayed bridges will probably look the same as any of the other cable-stayed designs built recently by other major cities.
• Any bridgehunters in the Tampa Bay area? I'll be in Tampa the week of May 4 on business and might be able to squeeze in some bridgehunting.

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April news items

• The Lowry Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River at Minneapolis may need to be permanently closed due to shifting of one of the piers.
• The Old Monroe Bridge at Lincoln County, Missouri, is closed following a collision. While this bridge no longer carries Highway 79, it is still a convenient access point for the town of Old Monroe.
• After a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook much of the Midwest on Friday, bridge inspectors in some states were dispatched to look for damage, but it appears they didn't find much.
• Demolition is underway on the old Hermann Bridge over the Missouri River at Hermann, Missouri. It was replaced by a UCEB (Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridge).

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Beaver Bridge in danger

The suspension bridge at Beaver, Arkansas, has been flooded twice during the last month. Even after the water finally recedes from White River, the bridge might remain closed because of damage by the floodwater and debris. See photos here, here, and here.

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Dewey Bridge destroyed

The Dewey Bridge over the Colorado River near Moab, Utah, was destroyed by fire on April 6. Supposedly, the fire was started by a 7-year old boy "playing with matches." Built 1915-16 by the Midland Bridge Co., this suspension bridge had the longest clear span (503 feet) of any bridge in Utah. It's unlikely that Grand County, the owner, will try to reconstruct it.

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National Bridge Inventory 2007

By popular demand, I've taken the latest edition of the National Bridge Inventory and produced a set of tab-delimited files suitable for importing into Excel or OpenOffice. Warning: This is a huge 36 MB ZIP file that expands to almost 300 MB when uncompressed. If you just want to peruse a few bridges, Nationalbridges.com might be more convenient.

The Federal Highway Administration only started posting the raw NBI data on their website last year. Prior to that, the agency was paranoid that terrorists could somehow use the data, particularly the GPS coordinates, for nefarious purposes. Thankfully they've come to their senses. In a memo dated May 17, 2007, the FHWA concluded that:

[T]he NBI data does not present information not otherwise publicly available that would likely assist persons in targeting a specific structure or planning an attack on a structure.

The memo also adds this tidbit:

It is also noteworthy that a recent study found that because potential terrorists have numerous options for gathering mission-critical attack information, government Agency data is unlikely to be a primary source of information. The study found that less than 1 percent of 629 Federal data sets reviewed by researchers appeared to have notable value for would-be attackers.

With the collapse of the I-35W Bridge, it's more important than ever for this information to be readily available to the public.

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Midwest floods start to recede

On Tuesday, portions of Missouri and Illinois were hit with a whopping 10-13 inches of rain. Many surrounding areas were drenched as well, with a huge swath of 5+ inch totals. This led to record or near-record flooding along many rivers, including the Meramec, Big, Gasconade, Black and Castor rivers in Missouri. The waters are starting to recede and it's not clear yet how many bridges may have been damaged.

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Not looking good for three Wayne County, Missouri, bridges

Two through truss bridges in Wayne County, Missouri, are on the verge of being replaced and demolished, while a third bridge was recently condemned.

• Construction of a new four-lane replacement for the Greenville Bridge is almost complete.
• The Wappapello Bridge is currently closed by floodwaters, but work is underway to construct a replacement.
• The Lowndes Bridge failed its inspection a few weeks ago and is now closed to traffic. Barricades have been permanently welded to the bridge portals, suggesting that the county has no plans to repair it.

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Those darn gusset plates

The investigation into the collapse of the Minneapolis I-35W bridge is revealing that the gusset plates were starting to bend as early as 2003. Let the finger pointing begin.

Similar problems with the gusset plates on the Division Street Bridge in St. Cloud were recently observed, leading to the closure of the bridge until it can be repaired or replaced.

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Looking for maps?

Topographic maps are an essential tool for tracking down lost or abandoned bridges. The quadrangles produced over the years by the U.S. Geological Survey often show the traces of old roads and railroads. In the past, these maps were hard to find online, but the situation has improved:

• The Internet Archive (archive.org) has posted national coverage for modern-day quadrangles in TIFF format. These maps include the "collars" from the printed editions, which include useful information such the date of revision and the names of adjacent quads.
• The University of Texas Perry-Castaņeda Library site features modern and historic 250K-scale quadrangles in convenient JPEG format. These do not include nearly as much detail as the ones above, but many areas were covered in the 1940s and 1950s and show roads and bridges from the pre-Interstate days. Also, railroad overpasses are clearly marked, something that even more detailed maps don't always show.
• The University of Alabama site features many historic quadrangles from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Select a state and then look for the "Out-of-Print Quadrangles" link at the top. Unfortunately, the site requires the MrSID browser plugin which make serious research difficult. In addition to the quads, UA also has historic soil survey maps for many counties, another excellent source of bridge information.
• Other sites with historic topo maps are listed here. Coverage is sporadic, but some parts of the country have excellent coverage with maps available in convenient downloadable formats.

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Fair Grove Bridge to be demolished

David Backlin sends word that Missouri plans to tear down the Fair Grove Bridge over the Pomme de Terre River north of Springfield, MO. This open-spandrel arch was abandoned after it was bypassed by a new alignment of US 65. The highway will be widened to four lanes and the old bridge stands in the way of the new southbound lanes.

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Welcome to Bridgehunter.com 2.0

After months of planning and programming, I'm happy to unveil the new version of Historic Bridges of the United States. Some of the new features include:

• Brand new search engine: Enter a phrase like "10-panel Parker through truss" and the system will show matching bridges, sorted by relevance.
• New category system: Browse bridges by a single category, or mix-and-match categories to pin-point particular bridges.
• Photo galleries: View photos of bridge plaques, truss joints, postcards, and more.
• Revamped bridge pages: Instead of wading through all of the bridge photos at the top of the page, the photos are shown one-by-one as a slideshow. However, you can always click "See all photos" to reveal all of them at once.
• Bridges are now listed by city in addition to state and county.
• You can now post comments and photos to news stories.

I'm working on Phase 2, which will allow you to upload photos and updated information directly to the site. In the meantime, feel free to poke around the new design and let me know if you see any pesky bugs or broken links.

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More December news

• Jeremy Ruble reports that the Bluff Hall Bridge south of Quincy, Illinois, is closed and might be replaced by a culvert soon. This bridge sits right next to a state highway bridge, so I don't understand the need to replace it.
• Steve Anderson sends word that the Berry Road Bridge north of Bonne Terre, Missouri, is closed to traffic. This is another bridge that sits next to a state highway and doesn't deserve to have so much money spent replacing it.
• It's been 40 years since the collapse of the Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
• The Dysart Bridge in Pennsylvania collapsed recently under the weight of a snowplow. This will undoubtedly give Pennsylvania even more reason to demolish historic bridges.
• The Tenth Street Bridge in Great Falls, Montana, has been refurbished for pedestrian use, complete with a spectacular lighting system.
• The McKinley Bridge in St. Louis is finally open to traffic.
• Nathan Holth says that "Google makes getting out of my chair pointless." Google Maps recently added Pittsburgh -- and its many bridges -- to the list of cities that you can browse from a street-level perspective. Click on "Street View" and select any road or bridge outlined in blue, and Google will give you a driver's eye view, down to the last rivet.

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Shameless plug

One person asked about the possibility of purchasing a photo of the old Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Bridge. I'm happy to oblige and have made a few photos available as art prints through lulu.com. I'm going to pick out some more of my favorite photos from the archives and upload them. Let me know if you have any special requests.

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Rails with trails?

Missouri's Katy Trail is arguably the most successful rail-to-trail project in the country. As a side benefit, many historic bridges have been preserved along the old railroad grade.

Now comes word that the Katy Trail will be extended another 46 miles west toward Kansas City along the old Rock Island Railroad, currently owned by Ameren. The utility company has agreed to allow construction of the trail along its right-of-way as partial compensation for the damage caused to Johnson Shut-ins State Park after the 2005 collapse of the Taum Sauk Reservoir.

But there's a catch. This isn't a rail-to-trail conversion; Ameren still hopes to eventually use the Rock Island line for freight traffic. Instead, the trail will be constructed next to the rails, but within the railroad right-of-way. This is billed as a "rails with trails" project.

This project is a mixed blessing. The extension could possibly be challenged in court by adjacent landowners arguing that the parallel trail does not serve a "railroad purpose" under state law and shouldn't use the right-of-way.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has used this extension project as a rationale for not spending state money to save the Boonville Railroad Bridge. In a recent statement, Blunt argued that the state should focus on completing the Katy Trail from St. Louis to Kansas City and not waste time with Boonville. Even though Ameren will foot most (but not all) of the bill, this "rails with trails" project will remain rather expensive since a new trail -- and bridges -- must be constructed from scratch.

The good news, at least, is that Ameren still intends to bring the Rock Island line back into service (not just this 46 miles, but the entire route through Missouri). While the right-of-way has fallen into disrepair and some overpasses have been removed, the tunnels and large bridges are still intact and could be saved.

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The Bridges of Winneshiek County

Jason Smith is preparing to write a book about the many historic bridges of Winneshiek County, Iowa. If you might have any information to share about these bridges (past or present), please read his call for help (30K Word document).

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Yard art

Gene McCluney and John Cross salvaged an eyebar from a long-lost bridge in Franklin County, Arkansas, and have turned it into yard art:

And it wouldn't be complete without a Christmas wreath (pictured is John Cross):

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December news

• Craig Meador reports that the Palmer Slough Trestle, an abandoned bridge on the Frisco Railroad in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was unexpectedly demolished within the last couple weeks.
• David Backlin sends word that the Powell Bridge in McDonald County, Missouri, will be replaced soon. Local residents are trying to save the bridge, but options are limited. As usual, the government is able to find money to replace, but never to rehabilitate.
• The Woolsey Bridge in Arkansas has reopened to traffic with a bare minimum 3-ton weight limit.
• Controversy has erupted over what to do with the Vida Shaw Bridge, a swing bridge in Louisiana.
• Plans are underway to rehabilitate Breeden's Bridge within O'Bannon Woods State Park near Corydon, Indiana. One half is an 1883 wrought-iron Pratt through truss (reportedly the oldest Pratt in the state). The other half is a ca. 1900 Parker through truss that was relocated here in 1959.
• Richard Holderbaugh sent this link with photos of the rarely-seen Glenallen Tunnel in Bollinger County, Missouri.

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What, you've never seen a bridge for sale before?

The national news has picked up this story about the village of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, offering an abandoned truss bridge for sale for $1. They intend to sell the bridge to somebody who will haul it off for scrap. Hopefully, a buyer possessing a little more sense will come along with a plan to preserve this historic structure. The bridge, a classic pin-connected Pratt through truss, appears to be in decent shape. Featuring a 100-foot span, it shouldn't be that difficult to disassemble and relocate elsewhere.

I should point out that many states, counties, and cities will gladly give away unneeded bridges to people and organizations willing to dismantle and move them. So this isn't that big of a deal, despite the media attention.

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News updates

• The newly restored Stearns Truss bridge in Delphi, Indiana, was dedicated over the weekend.
• Work is underway to rehabilitate the Big Four Bridge in Louisville as a pedestrian crossing.
• A new design has been selected for the replacement for Kansas City's Paseo Bridge. Big surprise: It's yet another cable-stayed bridge.
• Randall Houp's bridge hunting trip for next week in Arkansas has been postponed because it conflicted with another kind of hunting: firearms deer season.

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The bridges of Saline County, Missouri

Several people wrote in with the news that the Wilton Springs Bridge on CR 215 near Marshall, Missouri, was closed to traffic after a hole formed in the wooden deck large enough to swallow a tire. I visited last weekend and found that the bridge's deck is actually in decent shape except for the hole. This pin-connected Pratt through truss features decorative finials rarely found on a rural bridge.

The Eastwood Street Viaduct on Old Highway 240 at Marshall has been closed for a couple years. This is a rare concrete through-girder bridge built by the Missouri highway department. The city has plans to replace the viaduct, along with the adjacent open-spandrel arch bridge over Salt Fork.

Arrow Rock State Historic Site features a rare Kingpost pony truss that was relocated from a nearby county road. The bridge was moved to its new home next to a fishing lake, but remained unfinished until this year.

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October updates

• The Judsonia Bridge in Arkansas was closed on Oct. 5 after it failed an inspection. The bridge was recently rehabilitated, but apparently not all of the problems were fixed.
• Let's hope the War Eagle Bridge in Arkansas can hold out long enough before it can be rehabilitated.
• The replacement UCEB for the Hermann Bridge in Missouri was dedicated on October 12th.
• Investigators of the Minneapolis disaster seem to be making some progress, focusing on deterioration of the gusset plates, particularly "L-11" along the lower chord. Meanwhile, the process of replacing the bridge is turning into a circus, with a lawsuit filed that challenges how the winning bidder was selected.

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Arkansas bowstring listed on National Register

I don't know how I missed this, but the bowstring bridge near Danville, Arkansas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places effective August 16, 2007. Woo-hoo!

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Little Niangua Swinging Bridge closed

This self-anchored suspension bridge on Route J in Camden County, Missouri, has been closed for emergency repairs. The MoDOT news release is a little vague, saying that the inspectors "discovered a pin in the structure that required repair." Let's hope this unique bridge doesn't need replacement.

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East Delhi Bridge to be saved

The East Delhi Bridge, a through truss in Washtenaw County, Michigan, which had been slated for demolition, will instead be rehabilitated and reopened to traffic. This project sets an interesting precedent. Almost always, the Federal government refuses to provide funding to rehabilitate "obsolete" narrow bridges, instead mandating demolition and replacement with Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridges that meet modern specifications. In this case, the Feds have allowed rehabilitation, with the requirement that stoplights be installed at each end to regulate traffic across the one-lane bridge. Could this be the start of a new trend, one that saves money and preserves history?

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Woolsey Bridge closed

This two-span Parker truss in Washington County, Arkansas, has been closed to traffic indefinitely after failing an inspection. The county hasn't decided what to do next. The Woolsey Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER AR-63).

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Two rare truss bridges to be reopened

Finally, some good news. Two different bridges -- both featuring last-of-their-kind truss designs -- have been relocated and rehabilitated, and are now set to be reopened to pedestrian traffic. Both of these unique bridges are national treasures.

The Gilmore Bridge in Indiana, a Stearns Truss, has been moved to its new home over the Wabash & Erie Canal. According to the newspaper story, the project cost about $30,000 -- a bargain for moving a 19,000 pound bridge.

Meanwhile, the Zoarville Station Bridge, a Fink Truss in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, will be dedicated in a public ceremony on September 15. Greg Hall visited the site at the end of July when the bridge had just been lifted into place:

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News roundup

• The Amelia Earhart Bridge at Atchison, Kansas, is going to be replaced and demolished, despite intense lobbying by preservationists.
• Local officials are trying to raise money and support to save the New Harmony, Indiana, toll bridge over the Wabash River.
• The Kate Shelley Bridge, a massive viaduct near Boone, Iowa, will be bypassed by a parallel railroad bridge under construction, but the old viaduct will be allowed to remain standing.
• A drawbridge on New Jersey Highway 36 over Shrewsbury River will be replaced with a new high-level bridge.
• Gusset plates are still suspected as the possible cause of the Minneapolis bridge disaster.

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Site updates

You may be wondering why I haven't been posting any new photos lately, even though I currently have a backlog of over 850 contributions to process (not counting my own photos). I've been working on a major site redesign with a new database system that will let you upload your own photos, information, and trip reports directly to the site so that you don't have to wait for me. However, since the I-35W disaster, I've also switched gears to upload new inspection reports and data from the 2006 National Bridge Inventory, a time-consuming process.

As part of the redesign, my hosting bills are going to be increasing. If you'd like to contribute a donation to help support this website, please click this button to make a payment online via credit card:

As an extra incentive, donors will receive an ultra-cool @bridgehunter.com email address.

Drop me a line at webmaster [at] bridgehunter.com if you have any questions.

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Missouri's "Safe & Sound" Project

The Governor of Missouri has been pushing a plan to replace 800 bridges as part of a single construction contract. The legislature just passed a bill that eliminates the last obstacle for making this happen.

I somehow missed it until now, but the MoDOT website and PowerPoint presentation for this initiative have been using copyrighted photos from bridgehunter.com without permission or attribution. How nice.

There is some good news with this "Safe & Sound" Project. Many of the 802 bridges slated for replacement are, in fact, Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridges (UCEBs), typically built during the 1960s and 1970s. It's troubling that so many "modern" bridges could be allowed to deteriorate to the point where they are now structurally deficient.

I'm surprised to see that many historic truss and arch bridges from the 1920s are not on the list. However, the oldest bridge on the Missouri state highway system, Gootch's Mill Bridge (1905), is unfortunately slated for replacement. The loss of this bridge will likely mean that the stone piers underneath it, probably from an earlier covered bridge, will be lost as well.

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News tidbits

• The replacement bridge at Hermann, Missouri, is already open to traffic. The old bridge will be demolished soon after the new bridge is completely finished.

• Flash flooding wiped out a section of historic Route 66 in Laclade County, Missouri, but apparently spared the nearby truss bridge over Gasconade River.

• Two bridges in Vermont are available for adaptive reuse. According to the story, Vermont has never found a taker for bridges like this. Maybe it's time for somebody to step up to the plate and do something about that.

• Officials are trying to figure out whether to replace or rehabilitate the congested Lake Taneycomo Bridge at Branson, Missouri. One writer suggests building a new bridge while preserving the old bridge for pedestrians.

• Does anybody know anything about these mystery bridges in Colorado?

• The bridges and arches of Central Park, New York, are well documented on Michael Minn's website.

• The Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department completed a survey of bridges built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Depression. I've added some of this information to the database.

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Glasgow Bridge doomed

Until recently, the Highway 240 bridge at Glasgow, Missouri, appeared to be safe from the wrecking ball, unlike many of the historic bridges over the Missouri River. Inspections from the late 1990s and early 2000s consistently showed that the bridge was not structurally deficient, with a rating of "satisfactory" for the superstructure.

Not anymore. The bridge has rapidly deteriorated to the point where it is only open to one-lane traffic (controlled by stoplights) and the highway department is seriously thinking about an emergency replacement plan: demolish the trusses and build a new deck on the existing piers. This is similar what was done with the adjacent C&A Railroad Bridge in 1900 when new trusses were installed.

The lesson is that even bridges with relatively good ratings are not safe from demolition. And thanks to the Minneapolis disaster, bridges with deck trusses -- even small approach spans -- are now viewed as dangerous, regardless of the circumstances. (Gusset plates, pooping pigeons, and de-icing systems aren't faring very well either).

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Minneapolis aftermath

In the wake of the I-35W disaster, bridge inspectors have found problems at some historic bridges:

• The Washington Bridge over the Missouri River at Washington, Missouri, was closed over the weekend for emergency repairs.
• Officials permanently closed the Gravois Road Bridge at Fenton, Missouri.
• Inspectors wasted no time in closing the Pedricktown Bridge over Oldhams Creek in New Jersey.
• The Elwha River Road Bridge in Clallam County, Washington, was scheduled for demolition this summer, but was closed ahead of time.
• The Brooklyn Bridge is still open, but inspectors have identified a long list of problems. The sufficiency rating is 0.

Other tidbits:

• This story in the St. Petersburg Times provides a nice overview of our favority hobby.
• Jason Smith has written an essay regarding the Minneapolis tragedy and the current state of American infrastructure.
• I've merged most of the 2006 National Bridge Inventory data. You can see the inspection ratings for most of the bridges on this site that are open to traffic.

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The Armchair Guide to Bridge Inspections

The media has been doing a lousy job this week of explaining how bridge inspections work and what the rating systems mean. In this essay, I try to explain some of the concepts, particularly the new favorite phrase of every talking head on TV, "structurally deficient."

The bottom line is that there's no reason to be overly worried about other bridges until we know exactly what caused the collapse of the Minnesota bridge. Then engineers will be able to apply that knowledge to inspect and repair other vulnerable bridges.

I somehow missed it, but a few months ago the Federal Highway Administration posted the entire National Bridge Inventory data online.

Update Aug. 6: I've taken the raw NBI data from 2006 and converted it into simpler, tab-delimited files suitable for importing into an Excel spreadsheet. In order to keep the file sizes down, I only included the important fields, and I also compressed everything into ZIP files.

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Minneapolis bridge collapse

It's going to take time before we know what caused yesterday's sudden failure of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge at Minneapolis. This bridge, a steel deck truss carrying 8 lanes of traffic, was built in 1967 and doesn't really qualify as historic, although it obviously did not age well.

I've received several emails from people asking about similar bridges near them. Don't let the doom-and-gloom coverage on TV scare you. All of the speculation, finger-pointing, and fear-mongering is meaningless until we know exactly what happened. Just because this bridge used a deck truss does not mean that deck trusses are inherently unsafe.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has posted inspection reports and other documents to the front page of their website.

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Warsaw Upper Bridge reopens

Kathy Malecki reports that the suspension bridge in Warsaw, Missouri, reopened to pedestrians on July 1. The Upper Bridge is the longest of the remaining swinging bridges built by self-taught engineer Joseph Dice.

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McKinley Bridge in St. Louis to reopen

The McKinley Bridge over the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri, and Venice, Illinois, is slated to reopen September 25. The former toll bridge, mismanaged for years by the city of Venice before it was condemned in 2001, is being refurbished to accomodate two lanes of vehicle traffic, with outside lanes for bicycles and pedestrians. Joining the Eads Bridge and the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, this will be the third Mississippi River bridge in St. Louis that has been restored with pedestrian access. Nice.

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Paseo Bridge available -- some disassembly required

The Paseo Bridge in Kansas City is available for adaptive reuse. The text of the announcement says:

The Paseo Bridge (L07345) carrying Route I-29 over the Missouri River in Kansas City may be available for adaptive reuse at an off-site location within the next 5 years. If the bridge, or any part thereof, is transferred to another party, deed covenants may require the new owner to maintain the bridge in accordance with established standards for historic bridges. Funds may be available for reuse of the bridge. Description: This National Register of Historic Places-eligible bridge was designed by Howard, Needles, Tammen, and Bergenhoff, and constructed in 1952-54 by several local construction firms. It is a 3- span self-anchored catenary cable suspension bridge with four steel plate girder approach spans. It measures 1,832 feet in length and carries 4 lanes of traffic.

Contact: Missouri Department of Transportation
Phone: 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636)
E-Mail: kcICON.Project.Director@modot.mo.gov

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Caldwell County, Missouri

Caldwell County has one of the nicer collections of truss bridges in Missouri. Most counties are all-too-eager to replace and demolish their historic bridges, but Caldwell is preserving many of theirs:

• The Bonanza Bridge is a Whipple truss that was saved and relocated to a field next to the original site, quite a feat considering its sheer size.
• Henkin's Ford Bridge is a rare pin-connected Warren through truss that was bypassed but allowed to remain in place.
• The Polo Bridge is a bowstring truss that was airlifted by helicopter to a new site in a village park.
• Hulser Road Bridge is a nice bedstead truss that was bypassed but remains open to pedestrians.
• I spotted the trusses from another bedstead bridge sitting at the maintenance yard for the county bridge department.

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Unexpected find in Saline County, Missouri

I had seen postcards showing a bowstring truss bridge over Salt Fork "on the road between Marshall and Arrow Rock." I figured this thing was long gone, only to stumble across a bowstring truss on Saline County Road 225. I'm not certain that this is the same bridge as the postcard, but it's pretty darn close. Wrought-iron bowstrings are rare, but this one is even more special: it's still open to traffic! The road, however, was a muddy quagmire when I visited. I was about to give up when I spotted the faint outline of something in the distance that looked suspiciously like a bowstring. Bridgehunting isn't always easy, but it was worth the hike.

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Unexpected finds in Miller County, Missouri

I know, I know, this site is entitled "The Historic Bridges of the United States" and here I am rambling about Missouri again. But the Show-Me State is the area I'm most familiar with.

Joseph Dice is reported to have built 30 to 40 wire suspension bridges in central Missouri, with 6 still remaining (although one is doomed). The interesting thing about suspension bridges -- even those demolished 70 years ago -- is that they often leave behind lots of artifacts, especially the anchors that were buried deep into the ground.

When you see a bundle of wires hanging out of a piece of half-buried concrete, you've probably found evidence of a swinging bridge. And if it's in Miller County, Missouri, then it's probably a Joseph Dice special. That's what I found at the Route A crossing over Tavern Creek, near the MO 17 crossing of Saline Creek, and at Tuscumbia.

How many more Dice bridges still have artifacts remaining? That's a question for another trip...

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Growing pains

This site is starting to get a little too big and popular for its own good. We're going through some growing pains, which you probably noticed if you visited last week and were greeted by an error message. I'm getting ready to redesign the site to improve performance and add some new features. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

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Site Map

The new Site Map shows an overview of the pages available on this site, including many that have been recently added. Looking for 10-panel Camelback through trusses? We've got 'em.

Bonus feature: On the state and county pages, you can now use the "Download" link to grab the bridge data in CSV or KML formats to import into your favorite spreadsheet or mapping software.

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News tidbits

• Kentucky is giving away a through truss bridge over Rockcastle River. The price is right, but some assembly is required.
• The Kinzua Viaduct in Pennsylvania, destroyed by a tornado in 2003, is not going to be rebuilt. Instead, the surviving portions, along with the ruins, will be preserved as-is.
• The legal battle over the Boonville Railroad Bridge in Missouri continues to move very slowly.

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Fruita Bridge

Chris Brubaker sent this message about the Fruita Bridge over the Colorado River in Mesa County, Colorado:

It is 100 years old this year and in dire need of stabilization and repair. The City Council is currently supporting the stabilization project and is looking to see if there are other persons or organizations willing to help fund a restoration project... This site, hosted by the City of Fruita, has a pdf form for those interested in donating dollars towards the restoration project. Any and all support will be greatly appreciated.

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Two thousand

It's taken years of work, but this site now has photos of 2,000 bridges! Thanks to everybody who has contributed photos and information.

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New features

With all of the contributions that have been sent lately, I've been falling farther and farther behind in posting photos and updates. Not to worry, I've launched a new feature that lets you upload photos and other files directly to each bridge page. Now when you see a link that says "Post a comment or photos about this bridge", you can do just that, and the photos will be automatically resized and posted to the page immediately. You can browse all of the uploaded photos and comments at the revamped Forum/Discussion page.

In addition, I'm in the process of building a new category system that will make it possible to browse bridges that have very specific things, such as 6-panel Pratt through trusses or vertical endposts. Everything will be cross-linked and cross-referenced for your browsing pleasure.

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The Bridges of Winneshiek County

Jason Smith has issued a call to action for preserving the bridges in Winneshiek County, Iowa, several of which are scheduled for replacement in the coming years. Read the article. Winneshiek features a collection of rare bowstring truss bridges dating back to the 1870's, plus a large number of through and pony trusses.

In addition, Jason is seeking information on the Continental Bridge Co. of Chicago, the builder of the Chimney Rock Bridge (1906). If you can help, contact him at JDSmith77 [at] gmx [dot] net.

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Some good news for a change

• The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Robert Scoggin reports that the Tull Bridge at Tull, Arkansas, will be preserved in place and eventually reopened for pedestrian traffic.
• Pudge Combs is making progress in her quest to preserve the Rock Bridge at Chester, Illinois. The brush and trees have been cleared, which will hopefully help control the bridge's erosion problem.

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Arkansas bowstring bridge update

Randall Houp writes, "The Danville-Mickles Bowstring Bridge is going to be nominated in April 2007 for the National Historic Register. Plans are underway to have this bridge moved back to its original location across the Petit Jean River at Danville Arkansas. The original piers built in 1879 still exist, but are in very poor condition and will have to be rebuilt. Going before the Mayor and the Danville City Council soon. On Febuary 19th I am giving a presentation and talk on the bridge for the Yell County Genealogical & Historical Society at 7pm at the Dardanelle Public Library. We have their full support on this project."

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