Bridges that you can find around Melbourne — LEANNE COLE

It is back to the dentist today. Hopefully, all will go well. I’ve been down along the Great Ocean Road this week as well, but since I got home it has been non-stop. Before the trip along the coast, I also spent the day in the city with Anne, from Slow Shutter Speed. One of […]
Bridges that you can find around Melbourne — LEANNE COLE

THE OLD DRAWBRIDGE — Southern Soul: Simple, Strong & Sweet

THE OLD DRAWBRIDGE OLD DRAWBRIDGE OVER HILLSBOROUGH RIVER – TAMPA, FLORIDA. Photo by Lou Lehman Sams- all rights reserved The old drawbridge stands watch over the Cass Road Bridge across the Hillsborough River in Tampa, still tough as the steel from which it was made, yet rusting away a bit more with each passing year. […]
THE OLD DRAWBRIDGE — Southern Soul: Simple, Strong & Sweet

Rio Puerco Bridge – River Crossing on Historic Route 66 — Journeys with Johnbo

The Rio Puerco Bridge. Albuquerque, New Mexico. On our many trips through Albuquerque New Mexico over the last decade or so, we traveled I-40 between Albuquerque and Flagstaff, Arizona. Descending into the Rio Puerco Valley, a historic bridge attracted our attention and we left the Interstate to find ourselves on historic Route 66. The “Mother […]
Rio Puerco Bridge – River Crossing on Historic Route 66 — Journeys with Johnbo

Workaday — Old Structures Engineering

The picture above is best viewed with the picture below, to explain the change in focus. (If you were ever a fan of The Outer Limits, “We are controlling transmission….We will control the horizontal. (….)
Workaday — Old Structures Engineering

A look at Bridge 28 at Central Park from a pontist and artist’s point of view.

BHC Pic of the Week Nr. 228

Our next Pic of the Week presents us with our first non-snow-covered bridge photo, as we chme into spring, even though in many places in North America and Europe, it’s anything but that, especially with mountains of snow and the potential for flooding. But not to worry, there are two bright sides to this story: 1. Many regions that were parched with drought last summer are getting the much-needed snow to fill up lakes, reservoirs and rivers and 2. Not all things last forever as my prediction will be that the last cover of snow will disappear by June, unless you are in the mountains. 🙂

Our first spring photo comes from the still down due to renovations website, bridgehunter.com. It’s that of a rare bridge we don’t see much of anymore, and it’s one that is in danger of demolition and replacement.

The Runks Bridge is a two-span, pin-connected Pratt through truss bridge with Town Lattice portals and heel bracings. The 270-foot long bridge, which spans Augwick Creek, was built in 1889 by the Pittsburgh Bridge Company, alongside another bridge builder, Nelson and Buchanan of Chambersburg. Both these bridge companies belong to the Pittsburgh School of Bridge Builders, where dozens of bridge building companies in and around the Pittsburgh and Beaver Falls area prospered in bridge building during the last three decades of the 19th Century. Its demise came when some of the builders were bought out and owned by the American Bridge Company beginning in 1901, forcing many steel plants to shut down. Decline in the demand for steel combined with stiff competition resulted in the collapse of the steel industry by the 1960s. The two aforementioned companies that built Runks Bridge belonged to that group and eventually became part of the AmBC Conglomerate.

The Runks Bridge is in danger as there have been talks about tearing this structure down. Although nothing is set in stone yet, the bridge currently carries a weight limit of three tons- just enough for light traffic to use it. Eventually, something will need to be done with the bridge. Given the topography of the bridge’s setting, it would make sense to either rehab the structure for continued use or convert it into a pedestrian bridge with a new one built alongside the old one. Whether this would be realized or if it makes sense to relocate it into town, depends on the funding that is available on the local, state and national levels. Given its National Register nomination status, there should be more possibilities to restore the bridge since it’s one of the rarest of its kind left in Pennsylvania, let alone in the United States. But do the locals know that? We’ll have to see.

Information on the Runks Bridge can be found here.

Tulsa city councilors consider plans to replace historic 11th Street Bridge — Route 66 News

The Tulsa City Council recently reviewed four proposals to replace the long-closed and deteriorating 11th Street Bridge with a new pedestrian span. Bruce Henley, principal and business unit manager for Dewberry Architects who presented the proposals, told the council it probably wasn’t feasible to preserve the 100-year-old bridge except for sections that are on dry…
Tulsa city councilors consider plans to replace historic 11th Street Bridge — Route 66 News

Sir William Arrol exhibition – Spanning the Centuries — Sir William Arrol

South Ayrshire Council Museums and Galleries in association with Friends of Seafield House have curated this free exhibition on Sir William Arrol and Seafield House at Rozelle House Museum in Ayr. Do go and see it if you get the chance, it is full of fascinating items giving an insight into Arrol’s life, his achievements […]
Sir William Arrol exhibition – Spanning the Centuries — Sir William Arrol

City of Carthage loses lawsuit over the repair of its historic bridges — Route 66 News

An appeals court in St. Louis ruled against the City of Carthage, Missouri, in its effort to get a railroad to repair its historic bridges, including the famous Oak Street Bridge (aka Whee Bridge) that carries Route 66. (……)
City of Carthage loses lawsuit over the repair of its historic bridges — Route 66 News

The future of a well-known bridge along Route 66 hangs in the balance.

The National Road in Ohio: Crossing the Scioto River in Columbus — Down the Road

Over Memorial Day weekend in 2011, my dog Gracie and I explored the National Road all the way across Ohio. That road is now US 40 in most places. (….)
The National Road in Ohio: Crossing the Scioto River in Columbus — Down the Road

A look at a couple unique arch bridges along the National Road in Columbus, Ohio, courtesy of Jim Grey.