Big Sewee Creek Bridge

Photos 

Overview from the south

Photo taken by Eddie Douthitt

Enlarge

Map 

Street View 

Description 

History 

Significant under Criterion A as example of county’s commitment to improved transportation and Criterion C as a representative Pratt truss bridge by the Champion Bridge Company.

The Champion Bridge Company erected this bridge in 1914 (Toplovich and Rogers 1981). It contains one span, a 94.5-foot pin-connected Pratt through truss on concrete abutments. Seventeen feet tall, the bridge has a curb-to-curb width of 11.0 feet and an out-to-out width of 13.0 feet. The portal bracing is laced, and the knee bracing is a single angled member. Composition of members is typical. Top chords and end posts are channels with battens, and bottom chords are paired rectilinear eyebars. Verticals are small channels with lacing except hip verticals which are single rectilinear eyebars. Diagonals are single rectilinear eyebars in the center panels and paired rectilinear eyebars in flanking panels. Counters are single rectilinear tie rods.

The county barricaded and closed this bridge to traffic in 1985. It remains intact as a historic ruin. The Tennessee Department of Transportation, in cooperation with Meigs County and the Federal Highway Administration, built a new bridge nearby in 1988.

Facts 

Overview

Derelict pin connected Pratt through truss with missing deck over Big Sewee Creek on Fezzell Rd

Location

Meigs County, Tennessee

Status

Derelict with missing deck

History

Built 1914 by the Champion Bridge Co.

Builder

- Champion Bridge Co. of Wilmington, Ohio

Design

Pin connected Pratt steel truss

Dimensions

Total length: 94.5 ft.
Deck width: 11.0 ft.

Recognition

Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 1982

Approximate latitude, longitude

+35.59355, -84.71244   (decimal degrees)
35°35'37" N, 84°42'45" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

16/707242/3941277 (zone/easting/northing)

Quadrangle map:

Tranquillity

Elevation

740 ft. above sea level

Inventory numbers

NRHP 82003995 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 38117 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Update Log 

• November 9, 2014: New photos from Calvin Sneed
• November 8, 2014: Updated by Calvin Sneed: Fixed name and road listed with the National Register of Historic Places, added pictures
• December 24, 2010: Essay added by Eddie Douthitt
• July 25, 2010: Updated by Eddie Douthitt: Corrected bridge and road names
• March 10, 2010: Updated by Eddie Douthitt: Added Google Street View
• March 31, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey
• February 10, 2009: Updated by Eddie Douthitt: Added coordinates
• November 17, 2008: Updated by Eddie Douthitt
• November 16, 2008: Added by Eddie Douthitt

Sources 

• Eddie Douthitt - eddied1962 [at] charter [dot] net
• C Hanchey - cmh2315fl [at] yahoo [dot] com
• Calvin Sneed - us43137415 [at] yahoo [dot] com

Comments