Rating:
6 votes

Old Mail Road Bridge

Cumberland County, Tennessee

Photos 

Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in July 2010

Enlarge

BH Photo #169770

Map 

Street View 

Description 

The Old Mail Road Bridge is a one-span arch of unfinished Crab Orchard sandstone, laid in an irregular masronry pattern. Many stones are laid at odd angles projected outward in a skintled effect. The bottom of the arch turns inward to form ledges underneath the bridge at the waterline. This bridge, and the Deep Draw Road Bridge, are listed on the National Register, under the Cumberland Homesteads Historic District.

It is also noted that stalactites are rapidly forming along the underside of the bridge's sandstone arch, as noted by the photographs. Sunlight does not reach the areas where they are forming.

Facts 

Overview
Stone arch bridge over Byrds Creek on Old Mail Road in Cumberland Mountain State Park
Location
Cumberland County, Tennessee
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1937, located within the National Register-listed Cumberland Homesteads Historic District
Builders
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
- Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Design
Stone arch bridge built with unfinished Crab Orchard standstone laid in an irregular pattern that forms ledges along the length of the span.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 24.0 ft.
Total length: 58.0 ft.
Deck width: 22.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980
Approximate latitude, longitude
+35.89332, -85.02541   (decimal degrees)
35°53'36" N, 85°01'31" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/678215/3973916 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Crossville
Average daily traffic (as of 2018)
90
Inventory numbers
TN 180A9390001 (Tennessee bridge number)
BH 32471 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of February 2018)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 27.4 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Arch (12,102)
Built 1937 (807)
Built during 1930s (11,749)
Civilian Conservation Corps (151)
Cumberland County, Tennessee (21)
Deck arch (11,341)
Have street view (26,951)
NR-listed (2,960)
 Open (39,886)
Owned by state (15,996)
Span length under 25 feet (6,896)
Stone arch (3,051)
Structurally deficient (14,193)
Tennessee (1,223)
Total length 50-75 feet (9,300)
Works Progress Administration (264)

Update Log 

  • August 19, 2018: New photos from Jack Schmidt
  • July 18, 2010: New photos from Calvin Sneed

Sources 

  • Calvin Sneed - us43137415 [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Jack Schmidt - jjturtle [at] earthlink [dot] net

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