'Barrel Shot' Showing Wooden Deck
Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record
View photos at Library of Congress
BH Photo #154614
As of last week, this bridge has been indefinitely closed to all traffic including pedestrians due to damage to the wooden deck caused by flooding. The truss superstructure itself appears to be intact, but there is no ETA on when or if the bridge will reopen to any form of public use.
My site visit confirmed a lot of my speculations, which is unfortunate. The bridge and its approaches have not been maintained whatsoever since the bridge was closed in the spring. Both approaches are extensively overgrown, with the south/west approach completely inaccessible, and the north/east approach barely accessible after ducking and cutting through trees and branches. The iron trusses themselves appear to be mostly intact, although I observed at least one of the diagonal members at the east end post on the north truss had buckled and was bent. The wooden deck, on the other hand, is anything but intact. There are entire sections of the deck that are missing and have likely fallen away due to rotting. There are shrubs and weeds growing in the deck where the wood has rotted.
In summary, while the truss superstructure appears to be intact for now, the extensive overgrowth around the bridge is starting to surround the trusses at both ends. The deck, in its current condition, would likely not survive a major snowstorm or flood. Hopefully, even if the deck fails, it will not bring the trusses down with it, but I still feel strongly that this bridge should be moved off its abutments and placed on the ground a safe distance from the riverbank.