Fredericktown Bridge
Facts
- Overview
- Through truss bridge over Beech Fork on Fredericktown Road in Fredericktown, KY
- Location
- Nelson County, Kentucky, and Washington County, Kentucky
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1909
- Builder
- - Champion Bridge Co. of Wilmington, Ohio
- Design
- Through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 166.0 ft.
Total length: 329.0 ft.
Deck width: 14.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 16.7 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +37.75944, -85.35000 (decimal degrees)
37°45'34" N, 85°20'60" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/645342/4180407 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Maud
- Average daily traffic (as of 2010)
- 120
- Inventory numbers
- KY 090-C00024N (Kentucky bridge number)
BH 18905 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of July 2018)
- Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 19.2 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- September 18, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added categories "Pin-connected", "Wooden deck"
- September 18, 2016: New photos from Jack Schmidt
- January 21, 2013: New photos from J.P.
- February 4, 2011: New photos from Bill Eichelberger
- March 13, 2010: Updated by Bill Eichelberger: Added Google Street View.
- May 3, 2009: Updated by C Hanchey: Bridge is not on the National Register, added builder
- March 3, 2008: Updated by James McCray
Comments
Is the bridge open or not?
This Bridge is historical, beautiful, and functional. I THINK IT IS A SHAME THAT THE COUNTY AUTHORITY(NELSON)RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THIS BRIDGE HAS BEEN DERELICT IN ITS DUTY! If the bridge had been maintained on an annual basis there would be no need for an exorbitant amount of money to be spent now. So much money they are using it as the reason to close the bridge.
The Nelson County and the Washington County Judges both have stated that it is their desire to see the bridge closed, regardless of what their constituents want.
For my wife and me, it is our escape route when the river goes over the road between us and Fredericktown. Though we have discussed this with both Dean Watts and John Settles, our concerns bear little weight with either Judge.
Our hope is that reason and a remembering of civic responsibility will change minds about closing the landmark.
According to the local paper (KY Standard), the bridge is closed. There are a few "bad" (rotten? missing?) boards. They are currently deciding how/when to fix them or not. I hope this bridge doesn't go. I love it.
It's the only bridge like it that's still around today. The bridge on Hardesty Road is gone (now ugly concrete). I think they're going to replace one in Marion County soon (if they haven't already).
Please wish/pray/hope/whatever that this bridge is saved. It needs to be.
There are so few "historic" roads/bridges in the area that haven't been massacred by development.
Interesting bridge and surprisingly noisy. While its primary function is to carry a light amount of traffic between US 150 and downtown Fredericktown, it also appears to be used as a telephone pole. When traffic crosses the bridge, the bridge bounces and shakes. The telephone line that is mounted on top of the bridge bangs against the upper members, and when combined with the noise from the wood deck, makes for quite a racket. Well worth a trip to see and hear in person.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ky/nelson/90C00024N/
The original bridge at this location was a double-barrel covered bridge built by James Carrothers about 1832. It was burned during the Civil War. The second covered bridge was built in, I THINK, 1866 - I'll have to check the files. It was condemned and replaced in 1909. The second covered bridge was built of black walnut and the lumber was purchased by a local lumber yard and advertised for several years. The stonework dates to the original 1832 construction. No photographs of either covered bridge are known to exist.