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Parks Bar Bridge

Yuba County, California

Photos 

Oblique View Of Upstream Elevation, View To West-Northwest

Photo taken for the Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #224806

Map 

Description 

The Parks Bar Bridge is significant under Criterion C, as a distinctive example of an unusual method of construction. It is one of the earliest and largest remaining examples of the Thomas System of pre-cast, reinforced concrete, three-hinged arch bridges. This early 20th-century design and method of bridge construction was patented by William M. Thomas during his association with W.S. Post in their Los Angeles engineering firm of Thomas and Post. This is the sixth of approximately seventeen Thomas System bridges built in California, and one of only three remaining. The bridge was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Open-spandrel arch bridge over Yuba River on CA 20
Location
Yuba County, California
Status
Replaced in 1993 and destroyed.
History
Built 1913
Builders
- Thomas & Post (Engineering Firm)
- W. S. Post
- William M. Thomas (Engineer)
Design
Three-hinge pre-cast concrete open-spandrel arch. Built using the Thomas method of arch construction.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 146.0 ft.
Total length: 685.1 ft.
Deck width: 21.0 ft.
Recognition
Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Also called
Yuba River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+39.22000, -121.33167   (decimal degrees)
39°13'12" N, 121°19'54" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/644019/4342516 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Smartsville
Average daily traffic (as of 2009)
7,800
Inventory numbers
CA 16-11 (California bridge number)
BH 51216 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of September 2017)
Overall condition: Good
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 97.9 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Arch (11,478)
Built 1913 (809)
Built during 1910s (9,203)
California (2,275)
Deck arch (10,728)
HAER documented (1,103)
Lost (21,679)
Lost 1993 (447)
Lost during 1990s (3,832)
NR-eligible (4,030)
Open-spandrel arch (706)
 Owned by state (15,028)
Replaced by new bridge (14,373)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,972)
Structurally deficient (16,384)
Thomas & Post (3)
Total length 500-1000 feet (2,648)
W. S. Post (1)
William M. Thomas (5)
Yuba County, California (27)
Yuba River (13)

Update Log 

  • February 6, 2012: Added by Michael Goff

Sources 

  • Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • HAER CA-132 - Parks Bar Bridge, Spanning Yuba River at State Highway 20, Smartville, Yuba County, CA

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