Rating:
9 votes

Phoenix Bridge

Botetourt County, Virginia
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Photos 

Phoenix Bridge

East Approach

Photo taken by C Hanchey in December 2008

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Map 

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Craig Creek on Ball Park Road (Route 685)
Location
Botetourt County, Virginia
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1887 by the Phoenix Bridge Co.; Erected here in 1903 by the C&O Railroad; Converted to auto use in 1963.
Builder
- Phoenix Bridge Co. of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Railroads
- Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O; CO)
- Rail-to-road
Design
Pin-connected, 7-panel Pratt through truss with Phoenix Columns, 152'.
Riveted Warren deck truss approach span, 75'.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 151.9 ft.
Total length: 267.1 ft.
Deck width: 11.5 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 17.3 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on June 10, 1975
Also called
Phoenix Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+37.64906, -79.83105   (decimal degrees)
37°38'57" N, 79°49'52" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/603119/4167521 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Eagle Rock
Inventory numbers
NRHP 75002015 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
VA 3496 (Virginia bridge number)
BH 33622 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 08/2015)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 45.0 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
276

Categories 

19th Century (6,139)
7-panel truss (342)
Botetourt County, Virginia (20)
Built 1887 (193)
Built during 1880s (1,633)
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (63)
Deck truss (1,493)
HAER documented (1,096)
NR-listed (2,836)
One-lane traffic (7,412)
Open (36,262)
Owned by state (13,473)
Phoenix Bridge Co. (133)
Phoenix columns (58)
Pin-connected (3,134)
 Pratt through truss (4,555)
Pratt truss (7,946)
Rail-to-road (278)
Riveted (1,842)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,745)
Stone piers (13)
Structurally deficient (18,337)
Through truss (12,831)
Total length 250-500 feet (4,560)
Truss (29,327)
Virginia (970)
Warren deck truss (532)
Warren truss (5,715)
Wrought Iron (364)

Update Log 

  • November 5, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Wrought Iron"
  • July 10, 2011: New photos from Brian McKee
  • November 20, 2010: Updated by Matthew Ridpath: Added info from HAER documentation.
  • June 17, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey
  • February 25, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey

Sources 

  • C Hanchey - cmh2315fl [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Matthew Ridpath
  • HAER VA-105 - Phoenix Bridge, Spanning Craig Creek at State Route 685, Eagle Rock vicinity, Botetourt, VA
  • Brian McKee - bjmckee51 [at] yahoo [dot] com
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Comments 

Phoenix Bridge over Craig Creek
Posted July 10, 2011, by Andrew (rosecitywanderer [at] gmail [dot] com)

Absolutely beautiful! If I'm ever in VA I'll go out of my way to see this bridge in person. Let's just hope some idiot in an over-loaded truck doesn't try to drive across it.

Phoenix Bridge over Craig Creek
Posted February 27, 2009, by Robert L. Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

This is definitely a great find - complete with Phoenix columns.

Phoenix Bridge over Craig Creek
Posted February 26, 2009, by Anthony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Wayne

Yes......According to information I found on a Virginia Historic Bridge web site(that has since disappeared), this was originally a railroad bridge. It is a truly magnificent span.

Tony

Phoenix Bridge over Craig Creek
Posted February 25, 2009, by Wayne Kizziar (wayne1701 [at] cableone [dot] net)

This is a beautiful bridge. Did it start out as a railroad bridge ? Judging by the photos of the underside it looks like it was converted to vehicle use .