Raccoon Creek Bridge

Tony, it might be saving history in the wrong direction, but better to save it like this than by scrapping it to make toasters.

I may be mistaken, but a close-up look at the bolts seems to indicate that they have been in place a lot longer than 2005--the bolts and nuts are rusted, but they look very pitted, which in even extreme weather conditions, generally takes a very long time to take place. The small plates appear to be galvanized, so naturally, it will take much longer for them to even begin to rust. It's possible that these alterations were put in place while the bridge was still functioning as a truss bridge before being replaced.

Weird is exactly what I was thinking Nathan!

This looks like it may have been a late 1800's span as it is rather light in nature. The cover plates have definitely been replaced and attached with a minimal amount of bolts instead of the usual rivets. It also appears that the pins might be gone and the diagonals and counters simply welded in place

An attempt to partially salvage a piece of history taken in the wrong direction if you ask me.

A couple more examples.

The truss on the 2-span bridge still serve useful purposes in that they tie the 2 new bridges together and also protect people on the sidewalk from traffic.

But not a precedent.

A similar bridge was constructed in Nebraska along the Lincoln Highway.

http://bridgehunter.com/ne/douglas/old-lincoln-highway/

This is weird. Although it does appear that the old trusses were salvaged and placed on a replacement bridge as decorations, the trusses appear to be severely altered. It appears every single rivet was replaced with bolts. Cover plate may have been replaced too. It seems pointless to alter the trusses so severely given their non-functional use.