Gaysport Bridge (1914)
Description
The first bridge at this location was a covered Howe truss. The second was an iron or steel through truss bridge lost in the flood of 1913.It appears that the simple Pratt through and pony spans from the 1889 structure survived the 1913 flood and were reused for the 1914 bridge.
Facts
- Overview
- Lost Pratt through truss bridge over Muskingum River on CR 66
- Location
- Gaysport, Muskingum County, Ohio
- Status
- Replaced by new bridge using existing piers
- History
- Built 1914 after previous bridge destroyed in 1913 flood; replaced 1971
- Design
- Combination of Pratt swing, simple through, and pony trusses
West to east:
One 5-panel Pratt pony truss spans
One 11-panel Pratt through truss swing span
Three Pratt through truss spans one of 7 panels and two of 9 panels
One 5-panel Pratt pony truss span
All spans use pinned connections - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +39.80389, -81.89333 (decimal degrees)
39°48'14" N, 81°53'36" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 17/423527/4406372 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Philo
- Inventory number
- BH 62363 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- January 27, 2022: Updated by Paul Plassman: Added description, history, and categories
- January 27, 2022: New photo from Brandon Cooper
- January 26, 2022: New photo from Douglas Butler
- January 26, 2022: Updated by Brandon Cooper: Added category "Center Pivot Swing Span"
- June 22, 2019: New photo from Melissa Brand-Welch
- August 6, 2014: New Street View added by Douglas Butler
Related Bridges
- Gaysport Bridge (1971) (Successor)
- Gaysport Bridge (1889) (Predecessor)
Sources
- Douglas Butler
- Gaysport Bridge 1914 Swing Span
- Portal View
- Melissa Brand-Welch - melissabrandwelch [at] msn [dot] com
- Brandon Cooper
Comments
Smith BC became Toledo BC around 1890.
It looks to me like not only the ponies survived, but also the simple Pratt through truss spans...comparing the photos taken later with the 1908 photo, it sure looks like the spans with Smith Bridge Co. portals were reused. Perhaps only the swing span was destroyed in 1913?
About the ponies...I notice they have very insubstantial railings, while the through spans have regular lattice railings. Perhaps the builders felt a more substantial railing wasn't needed on the ponies....or maybe the ponies were built later than the through spans? They can't be any more than a decade newer than 1889, however, because as Tony pointed out, that style of vertical members was only used by Smith up until 1899.
That is amazing they survived. But looking at the picture, they aren't crossing anything and looked more like a set of guardrails.
Nice find on the Facebook photo, Brandon! The portal shot is impressive!
Unless the date is wrong, this photo appears to show that the simple Pratt and pony spans from the 1899 bridge survived the 1913 flood, as they show up in photos of the 1914 span. https://www.facebook.com/MuskingumCountyHistory/photos/pcb.1...
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/oh/muskingum/bh62363/
*that style of vertical members was only used by Toledo up until 1899.
Typed the wrong name for the company.....