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Clarkton Bridge

Halifax County, Virginia, and Charlotte County, Virginia
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Photos 

Clarkton Bridge

South Approach

Photo taken by C Hanchey in December 2008

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Map 

Facts 

Overview
Two-span through truss bridge over Staunton River on Route 620, near Clarkton
Location
Halifax County, Virginia, and Charlotte County, Virginia
Status
Open to pedestrians only
History
Built 1901-02 by the Virginia Bridge & Iron Co.; closed to vehicles in 1998; rehabilitated as a pedestrian bridge in 2005
Builders
- Austin Brothers Bridge Co.
- Virginia Bridge & Iron Co. of Roanoke, Virginia
Design
Main spans: Two pin-connected, 8-panel Camelback Pratt through trusses
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 150.0 ft.
Total length: 692.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 2007
Approximate latitude, longitude
+36.97826, -78.89683   (decimal degrees)
36°58'42" N, 78°53'49" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/687197/4094527 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Nathalie
Inventory number
BH 33706 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

8-panel truss (235)
Austin Brothers Bridge Co. (9)
Built 1902 (244)
Built during 1900s (4,243)
Camelback truss (232)
Charlotte County, Virginia (2)
HAER documented (781)
Halifax County, Virginia (6)
NR-listed (2,353)
 Open to Pedestrians (2,084)
Owned by state (9,806)
Pin-connected (1,519)
Span length 125-175 feet (2,951)
Through truss (9,202)
Total length 500-1000 feet (1,804)
Truss (23,562)
Virginia (540)
Virginia Bridge & Iron Co. (73)

Update Log 

  • June 21, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey
  • May 8, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey
  • February 24, 2009: New photos from C Hanchey
  • February 26, 2007: Posted HAER photos

Sources 

  • Dan Shaw
  • C Hanchey - cmh2315fl [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • HAER VA-108 - Clarkton Bridge, Spanning Staunton River at State Route 620, Clarkton vicinity, Charlotte, VA
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Comments 

Clarkton Bridge
Posted November 23, 2009, by Bobby Norris (bobenorris [at] att [dot] net)

I was in the South Boston area in the summer of 2004 when VDOT came very close to demolishing this bridge. I went for a drive one Sunday afternoon looking for the Clarkton Bridge and when I found it there was a gathering of supporters to save the bridge. I took many pictures and followed the newspapers for months to see what happened to the bridge. I'm glad to know it is still standing and I hope I can visit it again someday.

Clarkton Bridge
Posted July 17, 2009, by Anthony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Makes since Wes.....they do look like an upside-down Kingpost truss.

Uploaded file: JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01, 82487 bytes

Clarkton Bridge
Posted July 17, 2009, by Wes Kinsler (wkinsler [at] wkinsler [dot] com)

Those are called "trussed beams". It is a concept similar to truss rods under old-fashioned wooden railroad cars. It looks, from the pictures, that these were added in on after the bridge was built.

Clarkton Bridge
Posted July 16, 2009, by Anthony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

This bridge has perhaps the most unusual floor beams that I have ever seen. They are what I know as "Fishbellies" but are not a solid beam.