Old US 169 Neosho River Bridge

I field visited this bridge on 10/26/2019. It is still open and carrying traffic. It is still not on the NRHP and could be in danger of replacement.

Love this monster.

Nathan:

Thanks for the reply. I will update this page to reflect the information that you have discovered concerning this bridge. I will also edit the KHRI page to reflect the fact that this is a state-standard plan. If I recall correctly, this bridge was not considered NRHP eligible in the 1980s, but I would think that it would qualify now, given the fact that many state-standard plan bridges have been demolished in recent years.

Considering Kansas specifically, I would agree that there were far fewer state-standard trusses built in Kansas compared with Missouri and other states. One reason of course was the aforementioned Marsh arches, and also the fact that unlike Missouri and Pennsylvania, Kansas did not (typically at least) continue to build truss bridges into the 1950s.

That being said, in the 1980s, there were a few other state-standard trusses still in existence. Most of these bridges were located on major highways and were demolished likely due to the high volume of traffic that they had to carry.

There are a few remaining trusses in Kansas which might be state-standard. I need to research them further. Here is a small sample:

http://bridgehunter.com/ks/jefferson/440001/

http://bridgehunter.com/ks/jefferson/perry/

http://bridgehunter.com/ks/butler/80853006006/

Note that the Whitewater River span has fence guardrails, which seem to have been a state-standard railing.

Robert: I agree with that assessment, aside from convenience of location, that was one good reason for me to visit this bridge. I like to get at least one example of a highway department designed truss from each state I visit. Unlike 19th Century trusses where builder determined style, bridges from this area have styles and designs determined by state.

My photos and findings are now online. Feel free to integrate my builder info on Bridgehunter. http://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=ka...

Note that this bridge also has rare Scullin Steel brands on it.

This bridge is somewhat unusual for the region. Ironically, older, lightweight pin - connected trusses seem to be more common in this region than newer, more massive, riveted truss bridges such as this one.

In the 1920s and 1930s, (ie, the massive member truss era), a large number of Marsh arch bridges were built in this area. The use of Marsh arches likely cut into the number of massive member riveted trusses that would have been built in the area otherwise.

Nathan:

It will be good to see the photos when you get them posted. I have done similar parking jobs on roads that were less busy.

This bridge will (hopefully sometime this week) be added to HistoricBridges.org where you will be able to see all my photos. Here's a cropped photo showing where I parked the rental car. By Kansas standards, it is a busy road especially for one as narrow as it is, but I suspect the folks "out east" like in Pennsylvania won't see anything unusually difficult about the parking conditions.

Isn't that why we have emergency flashers? :)

Well, you know the difference between a Jeep and a rental car? A rental car can go anywhere 😄

That's what a rental car with a loss damage waiver is for :)

I still have not gotten photographs of this bridge for lack of a safe place to pull off. Thankfully, the Google Streetview Car has made a recent crossing.

Thanks for updating this page. Although this is a newer truss bridge (ca. 1930), it is a rather interesting structure because it consists of through and pony spans. I would not be surprised if this one gets demolished in a few years as it does carry a surprising amount of traffic for a bypassed bridge.

KSHS Link with photo: http://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?tab=details&in=133-0000-...

I have driven over this bridge many times, but have not photographed it. Unfortunately, there is no safe place to pull off the highway.