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The HistoricBridges.org Team: Nathan Holth - Author, Webmaster, and Photographer. Rick McOmber - Photographer and Content Advisor. Luke Gordon - Engineering / Construction Consultant and Photographer. |
Formerly Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere, Historicbridges.org offers
professional photo-documentation, information, and advocacy for
all types of historic bridges except covered bridges. North
American coverage radiates outward from Michigan, with
Pennsylvania, Chicago, and Ontario being coverage highlights as
well. HistoricBridges.org places an unparalleled priority on
professional photo-documentation of each bridge presented. In addition,
HistoricBridges.org strongly advocates for the reform of surface
transportation policy and fights to increase awareness of the
feasibility of historic bridge preservation. Click Here For The Latest Website Update (3-18-10) |
Historicbridges.org Features
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Featuring historic bridge photo-documentation and information, the Bridge Browser is the main feature on this website. The map shown here is an interactive clickable map that allows you to access the bridges on this website. Places listed in blue text have bridges available. BridgeSeek, an advanced search tool, is also available. Also, a standalone version of the Bridge Browser is available. |
 Browse All Bridges In Google Maps (Under Construction, 80% of bridges mapped)
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Bridge Spotlight:Approximate Time Remaining Until All United States Historic Metal Truss Bridges Not Preserved Are Demolished:Pattullo BridgeAt Risk
An appropriate bridge to consider during the 2010
Winter Olympics, the Pattullo Bridge is located Greater Vancouver
District, British Columbia, Canada. It carries King George Highway
(BC-1A and BC-99A) Over Fraser River between New Westminster and
Surrey. The bridge is an example of one of the more beautiful bridge
types conceived, a steel trussed through arch. The main arch span is
designed such that it smoothly transitions into the deck truss spans
which provide an approach to the main span. The bridge is
historically and technologically significant as a relatively
uncommon structure type, but most particularly as one of the largest
and oldest bridges remaining in Greater Vancouver. It also has a
high level of historic integrity with no major alterations to the
arch or deck truss spans noted. The bridge was built from steel that
was rolled in Canadian and British mills and fabricated in
Vancouver. Greater Vancouver has preserved very few of its bridges,
and mundane, modern cable-stayed bridges dominate the landscape. The
Pattullo Bridge is owned by an agency called Translink, whose sole
existence is to serve Metro Vancouver. This agency would do well to
consider the value of this heritage bridge to the region. The
Olympics will not be in Vancouver every year, and the preservation
of bridges like the Pattullo will help keep the list of reasons for
tourist dollars to flow into the region as long as possible. Current
plans to demolish this heritage bridge should be reconsidered. |
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Informative presentations designed to introduce viewers to the world of historic bridges. Utilizing photos and diagrams, the various terminology, construction, and configuration of historic bridges is discussed. A presentation on inspecting historic bridges is also available. This page also features some formal, yet easy-to-read, essays that further explore the historic bridge world. |
Historic Bridges Encyclopedia
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This feature contains articles relating
to historic bridges, as well as information about entire categories
of historic bridges. This section also includes some non-bridge
related photos. Some of the major features include: - An all-in-one collection of some of the best bridge photos available in wallpaper size. - A look at historic metal water towers, which share a lot of design characteristics with truss bridges. - A collection of interesting photos of the natural world. - An in-depth look at curved chord through girder bridges. |
Historic Bridge Park: A Visitor's Guide
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A comprehensive visitor's guide to this unique park located in Calhoun County, Michigan whose focus is the restored metal truss bridges within the park. Contains maps, photos, and links to bridge browser pages for the historic bridges within the park. |
Turning the Tide
A Campaign For Change: A Future For Historic Bridges
Historic Bridge Newsroom: Twitter
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Presented through the convenient format of Twitter, the Historic Bridge Newsroom is a simple collection of links to current news articles about historic bridges, as well as word-of-mouth news snippets. Coverage includes any historic bridges in the United States and Canada, which may or may not be in the Bridge Browser. This is a human-edited list of links; therefore coverage may be biased to the areas that those team members who maintain it are familiar with. |
Links to Related Websites
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Features a collection of external links to other bridge websites on the Internet. Many other bridge enthusiast websites feature bridges from areas not covered by this website, and links to those websites can be found here. |
News and Updates
Preservation of Historic Iron and Steel Bridges and Other Metal Structures Workshop: March 2010 - Register Now!Lansing Community College of Lansing, Michigan and
Vern Mesler are inviting all interested individuals to register and
attend all or part of a three day workshop entitled Preservation of
Historic Iron and Steel Bridges and Other Metal Structures occurring
in March 2010. Five $600 scholarships are also available for
students to attend this workshop. These workshops would be of
interest and value to historians/preservationists, as well as
engineering students. |
Website UpdatesMarch 18, 2010 - Drawings and Patents Added.Measured drawings or patents have been added to the following bridge pages: http://www.historicbridges.org/ohio/roebling http://www.historicbridges.org/ohio/brentspence http://www.historicbridges.org/illinois/sbrr http://www.historicbridges.org/truss/phrailb http://www.historicbridges.org/pennsylvania/roch_mon_rr http://www.historicbridges.org/kentucky/miltonmadison http://www.historicbridges.org/truss/ibrailstationary http://www.historicbridges.org/truss/ibrailvertical March 6, 2010 - Work Progressing To Create Google Maps Feature.Work is ongoing to produce a new way to find bridges on HistoricBridges.org, by producing an interactive Google Map that maps out the locations of all bridges. 80% of all bridges on HistoricBridges.org are now present on the map. New York, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana are the only major coverage areas for which bridges need to be mapped. February 23, 2010 - Pattullo Bridge Added As Spotlight.Just in time for the Olympics, added a page for the doomed Pattullo Bridge in Greater Vancouver. One of the last large historic bridges in the Greater Vancouver District, this bridge is nevertheless slated for demolition despite its beauty and heritage value. February 5, 2010 - England Bowstring Bridge added.Added a page for the demolished Bowstring Bridge in England. February 2, 2010 - Main Page Interface Update and 29 Bridges AddedOne of the least organized bridge updates ever released, this update includes a group of bridges from various locations. Many of these photos were submitted by website visitors have been sitting on a to-do list for a long time. Thanks to all who contributed. Also due to the increasing website coverage range, a new clickable map on the main page is introduced and the main page layout has been reorganized to suit this new map. View a list of recently added bridges. January 29, 2010 - Pennsylvania Historic Bridge Inventory Search FeatureThe Historic Bridge Inventory from Pennsylvania is now incorporated into a searchable database on this website which should be more convenient that the forms PennDOT offers. Search Pennsylvania's Historic Bridge Inventory. January 20, 2010 - San Francisco Oakland Bay BridgeAdded the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. The bridge is being introduced as part of HistoricBridges.org's Global Heritage project with Public Photo Compilation photo galleries, but the real reason this bridge has been added is so HistoricBridges.org could offer scathing commentary on the project that will demolish half of one of the largest and most important bridges in the country. View a list of recently added bridge pages. January 14, 2010 - Bridge Drawings AddedThe following bridges have had measured drawings added to their pages. These drawings were adapted from either HAER documentation or actual bridge plans.
http://www.historicbridges.org/other/6th/index.htm |
