Rating:
3 votes

Alaska Highway Bridge

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska

Photos 

Elevation.

Photo taken by Gary Fitch

Enlarge

BH Photo #169274

Map 

Street Views 

Facts 

Overview
Lost cantilever truss (Subdivided Warren truss) over Tanana River on Alaska Highway in Tetlin
Location
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
Future prospects
Blown up by state officials.
History
Built 1944; Lost 2011
Design
Riveted cantilever through truss.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 430.1 ft.
Total length: 945.9 ft.
Deck width: 23.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.3 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+63.31833, -142.64500   (decimal degrees)
63°19'06" N, 142°38'42" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
7/417591/7022114 (zone/easting/northing)
Average daily traffic (as of 2017)
491
Inventory numbers
AK 505 (Alaska bridge number)
BH 10048 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of July 2018)
Overall condition: Good
Superstructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Excellent (9 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 88.4 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Alaska (185)
Alaska Highway (3)
Built 1944 (116)
Built during 1940s (4,115)
Cantilevered (307)
Cantilevered truss (250)
Have street view (27,196)
Lost (25,498)
Lost 2011 (503)
Lost during 2010s (3,383)
 Owned by state (16,134)
Pan American Highway (7)
Replaced by new bridge (17,197)
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska (11)
Span length 250-500 feet (1,197)
Through truss (15,333)
Total length 500-1000 feet (2,888)
Truss (33,222)
Warren through truss (1,628)
Warren truss (6,646)

Update Log 

  • January 16, 2021: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • January 4, 2014: Photo imported by Fmiser
  • July 6, 2010: New photo from Nathan Holth
  • April 20, 2010: Updated by Nathan Holth: Updated bridge type.

Sources 

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Comments 

Alaska Highway Bridge
Posted August 22, 2012, by K. A. Erickson

In going through the doomed bridges listed I came across an article about the loss of this bridge last year. Alaska DOT threw a party topped off by blowing up this bridge to smithereens.

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/comm/pressbox/arch_2011/PR11-2512...

Alaska Highway Bridge
Posted July 6, 2010, by Todd D Walker (mrwalk [at] aol [dot] com)

I hear you Nathan... If one historic bridge can be saved, so can others. Missouri and Pensylvania are wrecking historic bridges, Alaska shouldn't follow their trend. It is always apalling to see UCEB's being put up beside a beautiful and savable truss. The "kaboom" will surely sting, and out of the dust remains the concrete "thing"...

Alaska Highway Bridge
Posted July 6, 2010, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

Absolutely pathetic. Nobody can try to tell me this historic bridge is in the way of anything. Don't demolish it... leave it standing next to its replacement as an abandoned historic landmark! It is so simple.

The largest and least populated state in the United States of America, and even here we can't leave the historic bridge standing next to its replacement?! What harm could it possible cause to leave it? Worst thing that could happen is an earthquake splits it in half, and that didn't stop the Million Dollar Bridge.