Phoenix Bridge
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
- Railroad
- - Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O; CO)
- 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
- Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
- 276
- Inventory numbers
- NRHP 75002015 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
VA 3496 (Virginia bridge number)
BH 33622 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of August 2018)
- Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 45 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
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
Comments
As of right now the phoenix bridge is in the best shape it has been in years. The company I work for, DA Brown Inc. restored this bridge. New pavement will be going down next week(11-23-11-24 2020) weather permitting. We replaced the stringers, x bracing, and repaired lateral beams. The entire structure was sand blasted and repainted with weather protectant paint. All new floor timbers have also been installed and new curb timbers as well. She may be old but they increased the weight limit to 25 ton now and she shines in the sun with the fresh paint.
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.
This is definitely a great find - complete with Phoenix columns.
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
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 .
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/va/botetourt/3496/
Ed, thank you for the great news! Would you be able to post a photo of the bridge once pavement is in place?