Albany Bridge

Being lifted into place tomorrow morning at it's new home over the White River on the Eastside of Muncie...

https://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2019/06/17/cra...

Here is the new page for it:

http://bridgehunter.com/in/delaware/bh85596/

It is supposedly being resurrected on a trail in Muncie Kenneth... So hopefully it is not lost.

Still, this was a beautiful spot and the bridge should have been rehabilitated right where it was at!

Took my fiance' through Albany on our way home from a road trip. My hometown is Parker City, she loves historic buildings so I knew she'd love it. As we approached I was saddened as I saw the construction signs, my heart sank..we approached and the bridge was gone :(

This was last week (7/24/2016)

Glad there are plenty of pictures of it

This bridge is currently in design for repair and reuse as a pedestrian bridge. It will be located just south of SR 32 (East Jackson St) bridge over the White River in the east side of Muncie.

This bridge is gone as of 2/2/16.

Here is this bridge in current condition so check out the photos that I posted in this comment and the ones on my facebook page at this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.179954638876616.10...

This was taken on Nov 09, 2013

Mindi, you would need to locate the commissioners minutes book for that year. Check with the county auditors office and they might be able to direct you. This information might also be available in the Muncie library.

Do you know the name of the county commissioners at that time in 1905 that built the bridge?

This bridge is still standing as of 5-27-12. I crossed it today and watched a few cars go over the river. The decking is in bad shape as most of the boards look like diving boards bouncing up and down as a car rattles across it. The sound can be heard a quarter of a mile away. Doesn't appear much $$$ has been put into this old structure for years. Probably hoping for the ultimate decline so it can be replaced. It looks like a sad situation for an old bridge that won't go "down" without a fight.

This bridge was also slated for replacement in the 1990's, as was every other truss bridge in Delaware County. Fortunately, at that time a new county engineer (a Mr. Hiatt I believe)saw how completely ridiculous that plan was. In the case of the Albany Bridge it was noted that a newer concrete structure was located a mere 1/2 mile away.

Since that time there has been a mixed bag of results. The Priest Ford Bridge was bypassed and even given a coat of paint (albeit over rust and section loss). Now the bridge is nearly inaccessible and overgrowth makes viewing the bridge difficult. One landowner has even went as far as to plant trees to try to further block the view. Downstream, the High Banks Bridge has fared much better. A full restoration was finished in 2009 and the bridge carries full traffic once again. The rehabilitation of this bridge makes the replacement of the Albany Bridge seem even more senseless. With that concrete structure close by, rehabbing this span (a Camelback just like High Banks)for reuse seems more logical.

Throw in the Blacks Mill Bridge, which will apparently be dismantled like the one at Albany. The Smithfield Bridge, which the county has always said will be preserved (although a bogus Non-select state historic bridge listing could affect this). And finally the Peterson Ford Bridge, a rare IBCo. high-triangular truss that has seen just enough repairs to keep it in service.

I have always been impressed that Delaware County retained so many of these timeless structures, all products of the hometown Indiana Bridge Company of Muncie. But it would seem that the pride for these landmarks is spotty at best. I still hold out hope that the interest in preserving the High Banks Bridge can carry over to the other spans.

Dismantling certainly doesn't mean the end for the Albany Bridge. It just means that someone else will have to step forward and pick up the slack to save this beautiful structure.