Recent New Mexico Comments

Possibly on the San Juan extension of the D&RGW between Chama and Durango. The train passed over 3 or 4 bridges until, the rails were removed in 1970. 2 or 3 of the bridges were truss bridges with v braces.

Possibly on Farmington Branch out of Carbon Junction on Denver & Rio Grande Western. Carbon Junction was a split of railroad outside of Durango, left leg went to Chama, NM and the right leg went to Farmington, through Aztec, I have a 16mm film of the Grande on a bridge that looked just like this bridge in the 1960s, line rebuilt in 1923, and wooden trestles replaced soon after, 1929, is soon after, this is a bridge probably replacing a wooden trestle.

Built 1951 height 180 ft

source American Bridge (builder) website

http://www.americanbridge.net/experience/experience_detail.php?prj_ab_id=Los%20Los%2010082004113319482

I just added a bridge to the site that was used by the same railroad grade as this one, just a few miles north in Colorado:

http://bridgehunter.com/co/la-plata/bh50266/

It looks like this bridge is open for private use only.

Going by Bing Maps http://binged.it/rLwg85 it appears the bridge has been abandoned.

I concur with Matt...all signs point to a railroad span that may have been retrofitted for road use.

Nice bridge!

James,

From the satellite view, it's possible that the bridge was converted for road use, but I'm quite certain that it was initially a rail bridge--it appears to be pin-connected with very heavy upper chords and doubled-up diagonals. The flooring system consists of two inner girders (parallel with the main trusses and joined with very large "V-lacing", essentially. The flooring configuration is not typical of a bridge initially designed for vehicular use.

Finally, the old ROW is visible in both directions and has long straight sections with very slight, gentle curves that cover long distances, like typical railroad layouts.

This bridge seems to be apart of an old road (Rd 2125) but it seems to also be an old railroad bridge. Someone please help here. The approaches to the bridge seem to be taken out.

From the looks of Google Earth this bridge seems to be open to traffic, but there is no NBI data for it. Any help will be welcome.

I looked at the bridge next to the Walking Bridge and saw that it is now a canal aqueduct over the river. I tried to find more info about it but can't find anything at the moment. I also found another truss bridge just west of here, which is the old US 550 Bridge. It is a parker truss and has pony truss approaches. I have added both bridges on the site, but need more info. So anyone wanting to help, please do so.

This is a good find, but I am also looking at the silver bridge beside it. That one looks like a potential Bedstead through truss, which would be a very rare find.

Bridge is open to only small vehicle use.

View attachment #1 (PC bitmap, Windows 3.x format, 600 x 450 x 24, 810054 bytes)

Interesting story and great pics. I wonder how long ago that stretch of road was used last?

What I do not understand is that this bridge is not listed on the NBI database. The road is still very much active, in fact, I drove across this bridge when I was in NM in 2009. The bridge is long enough to be on the NBI. So, if anyone can explain this, I would be grateful. I imagine that this bridge was built in the late 20's or early 30's since this is an original route of US 66.

I finally found some images and information about this nationally significant concrete truss bridge within a fantastic half hour documentary about New Mexico's historic bridges. I highly recommend watching the documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebm3OjD-9z0

What is odd about this bridge is for some reason it is noted on USGS Topographical maps as "Historical Bridge" It is rare that a bypassed bridge is noted on such a map.

These old Route 66 bridges bring back a lot of memories of life before I-40.

I remember going from Tennessee to California on 66, and frequently having to pull over to let 18-wheelers have the bridges before us.

It might be the South Canadian River Bridge, but the official (USGS) name of the river is just Canadian River.

The trestle restoration is underway for any bridge enthusiasts in the area. We should be done by December, 2009!

Contract by Osmose.

Man this bridge is da bomb

this bridge is tight

More links on this bridge are available here:

http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0000958

http://www.otowibridgepmi.org/

http://www.bridgemeister.com/bridge.php?bid=143

This bridge was disassembled and moved to the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. It now spans the Tortugas Arroyo and was dedicated today.