Bridgehunter.com | Kings Mill Bridge

Share:

Photos

East portal

Photo taken by Eddie Douthitt in December 2008

Enlarge

Map

Street View

History

Survey Report for Historic Bridges in Tennessee

Significant under Criterion C as an early, atypical Pratt truss bridge by the Champion Bridge Company. In April 1884 the Meigs County Court ordered that a contract be entered into with the Champion Bridge Company for $1,395 to erect the superstructure of this bridge. It is unclear if the substructure predates the truss or if the county contracted for it separately. Apparently, Champion completed the bridge by October since the court at that time ordered all warrants regarding the bridge to be paid (Meigs County Court Minutes Volume 9:63, 114, 318; Toplovich and Rogers 1981).

The King’s Mill Bridge contains one span, an iron 98.5-foot pin connected Pratt through truss sitting on masonry abutments. The bridge has a curb-to-curb width of 11.1 feet and an out-to-out width of 13.0 feet. Decorative features include lattice portal bracing, arched knee bracing with a single circle, and four finials. The composition of most members is relatively typical. Top chords and end posts are channels with battens. Bottom chords and diagonals are paired rectilinear eyebars. Verticals are small channels with lacing, except the hip verticals, which are paired rectilinear eyerods. Counters are single cylindrical tie rods. One unusual feature is the lateral bracing that connects at an angle on the side of the end post that connects near but not within the intersection of the strut and vertical. Another unusual feature is a horizontal tension member that spans the two center panels and then extends diagonally upward and joins the upper chord at its intersection with the hip length; at those points a circular metal piece is located in the vertical, and the tension member is bolted into each side. Apparently the additional tension member was not a cost efficient design and few
examples remain.

Facts

Overview: Pratt through truss bridge over Sewee Creek on Big Sewee Road
Location: Meigs County, Tennessee
Status: Open to traffic
History: Built 1884 by the Champion Bridge Co.
Builder: - Champion Bridge Co. of Wilmington, Ohio
Design: 6 panel Pratt through truss
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 99.0 ft.
Total length: 101.0 ft.
Deck width: 11.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 9.8 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 1982
Also called: Henley Mill Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude: +35.57778, -84.75944 (decimal degrees)
35°34'40" N, 84°45'34" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 16/703023/3939429 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Decatur
Inventory numbers: NRHP 82004001 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
TN 610A0220001 (Tennessee bridge number)
BH 32641 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 06/2011): Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 19.8 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2012): 20

Update Log

December 24, 2010: Essay added by Eddie Douthitt
July 25, 2010: Updated by Eddie Douthitt: Name
March 10, 2010: Updated by Eddie Douthitt: Added Google Street View
December 24, 2008: New photo from Eddie Douthitt
December 22, 2008: Updated by Eddie Douthitt

Sources

Eddie Douthitt - eddied1962 [at] charter [dot] net

Comments

Henley Mill Bridge

Posted December 25, 2008, by anthony dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

This is a beauty!

Next to the Martinsville Covered Bridge and a couple of unique bowstrings, this the oldest Champion Bridge Co. span that I've seen. Thanks Eddie for posting it.

Kings Mill Bridge