Gholson Bridge
Photos
Gholson Bridge (Iron Bridge Rd over Meherrin River)
North Approach
Photo taken by C Hanchey in December 2008
BH Photo #134190
Facts
- Overview
- Pratt through truss bridge over Meherrin River on Iron Bridge Road (Route 715)
- Location
- Brunswick County, Virginia
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1884
- Builder
- - Wrought Iron Bridge Co. of Canton, Ohio
- Design
- 100' 7-panel south span;
86' 6-panel north span.
Both spans pin-connected, wrought iron Pratt through trusses. - Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 103.0 ft.
Total length: 191.9 ft.
Deck width: 11.2 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 12.1 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 1978
- Also called
- Iron Bridge Road Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +36.71667, -77.83167 (decimal degrees)
36°43'00" N, 77°49'54" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 18/247088/4067180 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Powellton
- Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
- 760
- Inventory numbers
- NRHP 78003010 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
VA 3767 (Virginia bridge number)
BH 33628 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of March 2018)
- Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- October 25, 2021: New photos from Dylan Clarke
- May 7, 2018: New photo from Royce and Bobette Haley
- May 5, 2018: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
- April 29, 2018: Updated by Royce and Bobette Haley: Added category "Wooden deck"
- November 4, 2010: Updated by Matthew Ridpath: Added design specifics
- May 8, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey
- February 25, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey: Added NRHP record number and builder name
Sources
- C Hanchey - cmh2315fl [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Matthew Ridpath
- HAER VA-111 - Gholson Bridge, Spanning Meherrin River at VA State Route 715, Lawrenceville vicinity, Brunswick, VA
- Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Dylan Clarke
Comments
Some shots of this one:
Yes...definitely better than mounting them on top of the builder's plaque!
...of course I still prefer them on a pole about 20-30 feet away from the bridge.
Its nice that they posted the clearance sign above the plaque. In Pennsylvania, the clearance sign would be mounted directly on top of the plaque, possibly with holes drilled right through the plaque for this purpose.
Visited this bridge on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. This is a nice bridge, still open to traffic but with a 3-ton weight limit. Still in pretty good condition for a bridge built in the horse-and-buggy days.
yeah......I'm just picky........lol......and prefer it mounted on a post about 100 feet or so away!
This sign isn't that bad. They seem to have gone out of their way to provide poles to mount the clearance sign above the builder plaque. Normal practice is to mount the clearance sign right on top of the plaque so nobody can read it. At least that's how its done in Pennsylvania.
Nice bridge!
We need to add this one to the "I've got a better place for you to stick your sign!" category.
And interesting to note... from the time between the HAER photos and the ones Matthew took, the bridge shrunk 2 feet!
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/va/brunswick/3767/
This historic bridge can be upgraded to carry 36 tons and can
be preserved to continue in service. This option can be
applied quickly and inexpensively.
Refer to FINAL REPORT A MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR HISTORIC BRIDGES IN VIRGINIA,Copyright 2001, the Virginia Dept of Transportation.