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Big Sewee Creek Bridge

Meigs County, Tennessee
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Photos 

Overview from the south

Photo taken by Eddie Douthitt

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Map 

Street View 

Description 

Named to the National Register of Historic Places, July 6, 1982.

History 

Survey Report for Historic Bridges in Tennessee

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 

Abandoned (2,993)
Built 1914 (709)
Built during 1910s (8,687)
Champion Bridge Co. (78)
Have street view (21,685)
Lost 1988 (150)
Lost during 1980s (1,045)
Meigs County, Tennessee (10)
NR-listed (2,836)
 Owned by county (18,722)
Pratt through truss (4,544)
Pratt truss (7,930)
Preserved (1,045)
Tennessee (1,018)
Through truss (12,800)
Total length 75-100 feet (5,860)
Truss (29,289)

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
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Comments 

Big Sewee Creek Bridge
Posted July 21, 2017, by Rose Secrest (rosesecrest [at] hughes [dot] net)

I just now read about Calvin Sneed and his new book, and, by golly, here he is!

I visited this yesterday, one of four I managed to find in Meigs County. Such beautiful creeks!

I can't wait to read his bridge book!