Hazleton Bridge

Thanks Mike ! I was thinking about asking you and your wife to Tour Guide the Hazleton with me ! I've been over the Wabash Cannonball in June 2015 but ready to go Again.

Melissa, make sure you go early spring or the poison ivy will get you. Also, you must go in from the south. While your in the area, try to find Long Pond in Gibson. It's by the power plant in Petersburg. Also, Washington Rd near the town of Washington. AND Have you drove the Wabash Cannonball? Yee Ha! Lots of goodies in a small area! Plus lotsa ponies!

Mike Daffron, this bridge is on my list for Spring 2019.

My mom found this postcard. One Helluva Bridge!!!

Visited this yesterday. I haven't seen it since I was a kid. Loved it! My dad grew up around Hazelton, Giro. My Aunt used to live right in town. My wife loved it. She kept talking about how cool it was. Everyone should see this one. Yay Hazelton Bridge!!!

As eluded to in an earlier post ... one of the concrete spans of the northern approach has collapsed into the field below. Sooo ... don't try to get to it from the north.

The collapse is only part of the concrete approach ... not the arch spans across the river.

In 2001 I took my dad, JP Thomas, to see where some of his family lived. One was the town blacksmith and made parts for the bridge. He bought an engine lathe to make some of the rivets and bolts needed on the bridge. The Thomas family members are now all buried in the local cemetery. Dad told me of the many times the town flooded. The lathe was not used much after the bridge was built. The lathe was slowly covered by mud and silt when the shop was flooded many times. Dad believed it was where the fire station was in 2001.

Bridge looks extremely dangerous. Some of the supports are corroded all the way through...that means you can't trust ANY of the supports. I wouldn't encourage anyone to walk out on that bridge at this point. It's a gonner. Be safe out there.

My father, George Edward Mills, was born in Winslow, Ind. in 1928. In the late 1940's or 1950's, he flew an open cock pit small plane under this bridge successfully, with only a small span allowance. It was on the radio news in Princeton. The police were looking for him, but he was able to evade them. All my relatives still talk about what a crazy feat that was. I wish I could meet someone who remembers.

Debbie

I discovered this bridge when I took my first vacation to northern Tennessee in 2006. Due to the parallel CSX Transportation railroad tracks, I had thought this was their railroad bridge for a few years...until I noticed one journey through there that a span had fallen on the approach. Seeing months later that the span had not been repaired, I began questioning my belief that it was a railroad structure. I finally looked it up on satalite to find it was indeed a highway bridge, and that CSX's truss bridge was due east about 1/2 mile. This struck curiosity. So I made a journey over there late last year on my way back to Illinois for a vacation. Since then the bridge has become a place of solitude for me. A great place to sit and think, watching the gentle waters of the White River. After 300 some miles of travel, and about 100 more to go, its a very nice break. I too wish to see it preserved, however, its about beyond that point. I'm generally pretty careful walking on it, however it seems fairly sturdy for pedestrians. In any case, its a relaxing place, I will visit until one can't visit it anymore. I've shot some pictures that I have included, enjoy.

Talked to a local resident. Its not going anywhere any time soon.

A real shame.....but not a surprise!

It's been going downhill for some time now.

Just got word through the newspaper today, that the Knox County commissioner is starting to get the wheels turning to have the bridge torn down.

I remember driving across this old bridge back when I was in college in the 1980's. If I remember, the bridge was closed to traffic after a fatality accident as a result of steel beams placed across both approaches. It is quite a sight to view this bridge from the current US 41 bridge as it provides a great picture of just how big this bridge is.

Drove by yesterday on my way to priceton, and seen one of the spans has fallen, might have been from the floods earlier this year

This bridge was actually built ca1923. It has at least four Parker spans with two pony approach spans on the south side and on the north I'm not sure because I didn't walk it. It is an incredibly neat bridge with some length. This would be a great bridge to restore and preserve. It would be a shame to let it go too far gone.

I'll bet this bridge was built many years earlier than 1945 because it is rather narrow and such. It is indeed an impressive bridge and hope it can be preserved.

This bridge has been closed for over 20 years now, but fun to walk across.