Presentation given by Nathan Holth at PEC's 2017 Annual Meeting.

1. Virginia’s Historic Bridges
Presented By: Nathan Holth
Copyright © 2017

2. Introduction: About Me
• Website created and
maintained by me.
• Photos, Advocacy, &
Documentation
• 32 States
• 4 Canadian Provinces
• 4475 Bridges Listed
Currently
• 14 Years
• I work in the office
and also handle
historic bridge
matters.
• Steel Fabricator
• Restoration/Relocation
of Historic Bridges &
• Hot Rivets

3. Bridge Structure Basics
The part of the bridge that spans the obstacle is the
superstructure. The part of the bridge that holds the
superstructure up is the substructure (piers and abutments)
Superstructure
Substructure
Pier Abutment
Abutment

4. The parts of a truss bridge experience forces in the form
of tension (stretching apart) and compression
(squeezing together). Engineers often picked different
types of materials and designs for the different parts of a
bridge based on these forces. An example is shown
above.
Truss Bridge Forces
Tension
Compression

5. Truss Configurations
Pratt
Warren
The two most common truss configurations are shown
above.

6. Truss Bridge Connections
The pieces of the framework of a truss bridge are held
together by connections, sometimes also called joints.
Most connections on historic bridges are either riveted or
pinned, but can also be bolted or welded.

7. Phoenix Columns
A special type of built-up wrought iron column. These
columns feature a circular shape to them. They were
generally used on pin-connected truss bridges, for
various members and bracing.

8. Phoenix Columns
Phoenix Columns were invented and patented by
Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville and Philadelphia,
and the related Phoenix Bridge Company built bridges
with them.

9. Phoenix Columns
Drawings from
a company
catalogue
show the rolled
sections for
Phoenix
Columns and
sample
resulting
riveted
columns.

10. Phoenix Bridge
• Botetourt County, Virginia
• Ball Park Road (Route 685) over Craig Creek
• 152 Foot Pratt Truss Span
• Built 1887, moved here in 1903 by C&O Railroad; Converted to
vehicular use in 1963.

11. Phoenix Bridge
• Significant for use of patented Phoenix columns.
• Unique for its surviving ornamental builder plaque listing the
actual Phoenix Bridge Company, rather than a contractor like
Dean and Westbrook.

12. Two More Phoenix Trusses
• Old Route 61 Wolf Creek Bridge
• Bland County, Virginia (1891)
• Pratt through truss
• Gleaves Road (Route 619) Cripple Creek Bridge
• Wythe County, Virginia (1880s Moved Here 1903)

13. CR-616 Wallens Creek
• County Road 616 Wallens Creek Bridge
• Lee County, Virginia
• Listed date of 1932.
• A rare 1880s pin-connected Warren former railroad
bridge.

14. Crab Run Bridge
• Pony truss bridge over Crab Run on Route 645
• Highland County, Virginia
• Built 1896 by the West Virginia Bridge Works

15. Crab Run Bridge
• Extremely rare example of patented Lane truss built from railroad
rails.
• Lane Bridge Works was based in Painted Post, New York, and
existed from ca. 1890 to 1901. In 1890, company founder and
civil engineer D. F. Lane patented the design and improved it in

16. Featherbed Lane Bridge
• Featherbed Lane (Route 673) over Catoctin Creek
• Loudoun County, Virginia
• Built 1889 on Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike (Route 7) over
Goose Creek.
• Moved here in 1932.
• 157 Foot pin-connected Pratt built by Variety Iron Works of
Cleveland, Ohio

17. Featherbed Lane Bridge
Variety Iron Works of Cleveland, Ohio: Very few surviving bridges.
Company did indeed build many structural iron and steel structures.

18. Linville Creek Bridge
• Springbrook Road (Route 1421) over Linville Creek in Broadway
Rockingham County, Virginia
• Built 1898 by Wrought Iron Bridge Co. of Canton, Ohio
• 136 foot Thacher truss.
• Extremely rare, one of the few surviving Thacher trusses.

19. Linville Creek Bridge
Edwin Thacher developed and patented this hybrid truss in 1883.

20. Aden Road Bridge
• Aden Road over Norfolk Southern RR in Nokesville Prince William
County, Virginia
• Built 1882 by Keystone Bridge Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• 78 Foot Span.

21. Keystone Bridge Co.
Pittsburgh’s Keystone Bridge Company was also
associated with the Union Iron Mills of Pittsburgh, an
early endeavor of Andrew Carnegie.

22. Remington Bridge
• Remington Road Over Rappahannock River, Culpeper-Fauquier
County Line
• Built ca. 1930-2 for US-15 by Roanoke Iron and Bridge Works of
Roanoke, Virginia
• Virginia State Highway Commission Design (Two 90 Foot Riveted
Warren Pony Truss spans, and two concrete t-beam spans)
• Highway realignment replaced 1885 truss bridge.
Railroad
US-15
1885 Truss
Piers &
Old Alignment
1937 Aerial

23. Waterloo Bridge
• Waterloo Road (Route 613) over Rappahannock River
• Culpeper-Fauquier County Line, Virginia
• 102 Foot Span
• Pin-connected Pratt through truss

24. Waterloo Bridge
• Built in 1878 by Pittsburgh Bridge Company. One of the oldest
examples of their work in the country, and an early surviving
example of a pin-connected Pratt through truss.
• Approach spans were replaced in 1919 by Virginia Bridge and
Iron Co. of Roanoke, VA.
Fauquier County Court Minute
Book 1876-1880.
Page 243: July 25, 1878 - “This
day the Fauquier Comms. filed the
report accepting the Bridge over the
Rappk. River at Waterloo, erected by
the Pittsburg Bridge Company, &
s[ ] is confirmed. And the Court
doth order the County Treasurer of
Fauquier County to pay to T.N.
Fletcher one of the Comms. on the
part of Fauquier County the sum of
$620.00 the balance due said
Pittsburg Bridge Company in full of
said Bridge….”

25. Pittsburgh Bridge Co.

26. Fink Truss Bridge
• Designed and patented by Albert Fink, the Fink truss was one of
the first metal bridge types to be used by the railroad.
• Lightweight in design, they were soon replaced by heavier
bridges, accounting for their rarity today.

27. Fink Truss Bridge
• One of less than a handful of surviving Fink truss bridges in USA.
• Rare use of cast iron for vertical members.
• Lynchburg, VA. Built as railroad bridge in 1870. Moved and used
on a highway in 1893. Placed in Riverside Park as a display in
1985.

28. Other Metal Truss Bridges
• Overall Virginia has a relatively small population of surviving
metal truss bridges.
• The surviving collection is distinguished by its unusual, notable,
and rare designs even compared with other states.

29. Little River Turnpike Bridge
• Loudoun County, Virginia
• Crosses Little River on John S. Mosby Highway
• Segmental stone arch bridge
• Built 1824 (extremely old) and a surviving artifact of turnpike
era.

30. Goose Creek Bridge
• Built ca. 1802-1810 for Ashby’s Gap Turnpike. One of the oldest
known surviving bridges in Virginia.
• Segmental stone arch bridge
• Battle of Upperville around bridge in 1863
• Bypassed by new bridge in 1957

31. Daniel B. Luten (1869-1946)
• Michigan-born engineer based in Indiana who designed,
patented, and promoted concrete arch bridges.
• Many different companies bought rights to use his patented
designs.
• Helped popularize the use of traditional reinforced concrete in
bridges.

32. Luten: The Salesman

33. Luten In Fauquier County
• Closed spandrel concrete deck arch bridges built in 1919.
• Built by Luten Bridge Company of York, Pennsylvania: A licensed
builder of Luten design bridges.
• Traditional, unaltered examples of rural Luten design bridges.
• 2 bridges on Crenshaw Road over Goose
Creek (right) and Wolf’s Mill Branch (left).

34. Luten: Fairground Rd. Bridge
• Callaway: Tazewell County, Virginia over the Clinch
River
• Concrete closed spandrel deck arch bridge.
• Built 1923 by Luten Bridge Company of Knoxville, TN

35. James River Bridge
• CSX - James River Bridge
• Richmond, Virginia
• Large multi-span open spandrel concrete arch
bridge, 2200 feet long, built in 1919.
• Designed by noted engineer John Edwin Greiner

36. Through Arch Bridge Basics
Standard or Traditional Arch:
Ends of arch thrust into piers and
abutments at an angle.
Tied Arch: Rests on top of
piers and abutments and is
held together by a large “tie”
beam near deck level.
All are commonly called Rainbow Arch Bridges

37. US-1 Stony Creek Bridge
• US-1 Stony Creek Bridge
• Dinwiddie County, Virginia
• Concrete Through “Rainbow” Arch.
• Tied Arch design.
• Built 1927.
• Only known surviving rainbow arch in
Virginia.

38. Suspension Footbridges
Virginia has a unique and unusually large
collection of suspension foot bridges.
Spivey Ford Suspension Footbridge,
Bellamy, Gloucester County
Old Footings Above

39. Suspension Footbridges
Design varies, some made of modern (welded materials), others
made of historic riveted materials (potentially salvaged and reused)
Zenobia Suspension Footbridge,
Washington County, Virginia. (Note use
of railroad rail for anchorages.)

40. Suspension Footbridges
A few bridges appear to be built from original materials, or from
materials reused with greater effort.
Thornton River -
Sperryville,
Virginia
Robinson River -
Criglersville,
Virginia

41. Suspension Footbridges
Most are of simple or even crude design.
Some are DOT owned!
North Fork Holston
River - Chatham Hill
vicinity, Virginia

42. Bridge Restoration Experience
Bach Steel specializes in the relocation and restoration of
historic metal truss bridges, but also has many years of
experience in general structural steel fabrication and
erection work.

43. Example: State Street Bridge,
Bridgeport , Michigan
Before and After

44. Example: State Street Bridge,
Bridgeport , Michigan
Safety Assurance: Restoration
of this “paired eyebar fracture
critical truss bridge” Stamped
By Engineer, Approved By
MDOT.

45. The Restoration:
Replicating Portions of Beams
A very common truss repair: Replicate and replace only the
bottom portion of vertical members and end posts.
Replicated
portion.
Original end
post.
Replicated
Portion
Pad Welding

46. 2017: Notable Bridge Projects:
MDOT Riveting Projects
Restoration/Relocation M-86 Prairie River

47. 2017: Notable Bridge Projects:
MDOT Riveting Projects
Restoration/Relocation M-86 Prairie River

48. Procurement With Bach Steel
Two Possible Approaches
Incorporate a Special Provision in
Specifications stating that work
relating to historic bridge be
completed by pre-approved
companies.
BLACKSMITH
Description
Repair of the truss members of the two historic
bridge spans requires skills that are uncommon.
Therefore, the following specific tasks shall be
accomplished by one of the firms noted in this
provision. The tasks are:
1. riveting,
2. welding of any sort on bridge members,
The firms that may perform the blacksmith work
for this project are:

49. Procurement With Bach Steel
Two Possible Approaches
Special Provision in
Specifications stating
that bridge is to be
supplied as a completed
product meeting
specifications.
List approved suppliers.
Common method for
modern, prefabricated
pedestrian truss bridges.

50. Consequences of Inexperienced
Contractors On Specialty Work
Historic Bridge Damage/Destruction
Associated Project Cost Increases/Delays
Possibly including additional Section 106 Consultation.

51. Consequences of Inexperienced
Contractors On Specialty Work
Bad Repairs (Harms historic integrity of bridge, repairs are
less effective, require greater future costs)

52. Benefits of Experienced
Engineers
Long-lasting and good looking repairs, detailed analysis of bridge. Confidence to put
stamp on rehabilitation. Owner and public reassured by this confidence as well.

53. Typical vs Unique
Functional vs Functional Historic Landmark

54. Possibilities?
Freedom Bridge in Carroll County, Indiana

55. Conclusion/Questions
Email: nathan@historicbridges.org
Photo Credits/Sources:
HistoricBridges.org
BachSteel.com
BridgeHunter.com
BridgeMeister.com
Photos may be
protected by copyright
with all rights reserved.