Aqueduct Bridge
Videos
Aquaduct Bridge video by Mike Daffron | |
Abandoned Bridges of Indiana volume 1 video by Mike Daffron |
Facts
- Overview
- Abandoned Pratt through truss bridge over Birch Creek on Towpath Road
- Location
- Clay County, Indiana
- Status
- Abandoned
- History
- Pony truss built ca.1880 by Cleveland Bridge & Iron Co., and through built ca. 1920 by the Vincennes Bridge Co.
- Builders
- - Cleveland Bridge & Iron Co. of Cleveland, Ohio
- Vincennes Bridge Co. of Vincennes, Indiana
- Design
- Pratt through truss and Pratt pony truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 102.0 ft.
Total length: 165.0 ft.
Deck width: 16.1 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on February 7, 2000
- Also called
- Coffey Bridge
Clay County Bridge #182 - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +39.32643, -87.17951 (decimal degrees)
39°19'35" N, 87°10'46" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/484527/4353017 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Saline City
- Inventory numbers
- NRHP 00000209 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
INNBI 1100154 (Indiana bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 42218 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- August 18, 2019: New video from Mike Daffron
- March 24, 2018: New photos from Mike Daffron
- July 29, 2017: New video from Mike Daffron
- January 14, 2017: New photos from Mike Daffron
- July 18, 2010: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Adjusted dates of construction
- April 5, 2009: Added by Robert Stephenson
Sources
- Robert Stephenson - seinfeld99 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Mike Daffron - daffmikron [at] gmail [dot] com
Comments
Dennis,
I've never been able to uncover the whole story of this area. The Wabash & Erie Canal came through here, hence the names "Towpath Road" and the nearby "Feederdam Bridge". Birch Creek may have been part of the canal, or may have been a source of water for it. This bridge would have not carried water though.
Dennis,
The National Register Nomination for this bridge includes a detailed history and explains this bridge's name (as well as Towpath Road)
Why is it called the Aquaduct Bridge? Did it carry water?
This beauty is in a 3 mile radius of Feederdam, Jeffers, and Courtney. I guess the only bridges that Clay County actually gives a crap about are abandoned.
In my opinion the pony truss is particularly significant because of its early 1880 construction date and association with a bridge builder that is not well represented in the remaining bridge population.
The DHPA comments for this bridge state that:
The overall pattern of the trusses of each span is fairly conventional. The full-hip design of the pony and the crafting of the verticals are noteworthy, though. The undecorated trusses of each span retain their original members.
Thanks Tom, I was really surprised that it was still standing.
Tony, I think it is about 3 mile west of the Feeder Dam bridge.
Yeah I didn't know about this one either. Not a through with a pony listed in Cooper's book. The pony looks like the older of the two spans. How close is this to the Feederdam Bridge over the Eel River?
Wow Robert, Nice find! Another bridge I didn't know existed. I was within a few miles of this bridge more than once last year and went right past. I'm going to have to pay more attention.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/in/clay/aqueduct/
Thanks Nathan... not sure how I missed that!