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Pyrmont Road Bridge

TR-453 Bridge

Pyrmont Road Bridge

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

Bridge Documented: May 7, 2006

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Facility Carried / Feature Intersected
Pyrmont Road (TR-453) Over Twin Creek
Location
Rural: Preble County, Ohio: United States
Construction Date and Builder / Engineer
1904 By Builder/Contractor: Indiana Bridge Company of Muncie, Indiana
Rehabilitation Date
1995
Main Span Length
172.0 Feet (52.4 Meters)
Structure Length
180.0 Feet (54.9 Meters)
Roadway Width
15.7 Feet (4.79 Meters)
Spans
1 Main Span(s)
Inventory Number
6833861

Historic Significance Rating (HSR)
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Bridge Documentation

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

This bridge is a beautiful nine panel pin connected Camelback truss bridge. Pin-connected Camelback truss bridges are uncommon, far less common than Parker trusses, which would have more than five slopes to the top chord/end post system. This bridge features v-lacing on the verticals and under the top chord. The portal bracing is a narrow a-frame design. The 1995 rehabilitation date given for the bridge refers to when a new deck was added to the bridge. This new deck features a corrugated steel base, with an asphalt layer above which forms the driving surface. Original railings do not remain on the bridge, and have been replaced by modern Armco railings. The most recent paint work on the bridge included painting blue only the bottom part of the bridge, leaving silver paint and rust on the spectacular trusses that make up the bridge. While this painting effort is not visually pleasing, and while a complete repainting would be better for the long-term health of the bridge, painting the lower portions of the truss is the most important area to do if funds are short because this area will deteriorate long before any other parts of the truss will.

This bridge is just as rare, significant, and worthy of preservation as the covered bridges in Preble County that seem to get so much more attention than beautiful historic metal truss bridges such as this one.

The builder plaque was stolen from this bridge sometime after the 1980s. The old Historic Bridge Inventory photos show the Indiana Bridge Company plaque with its distinctive shape.

Information and Findings From Ohio's Historic Bridge Inventory

Setting/Context

The bridge carries a 2 lane road over a stream in a rural area of active farms.

Physical Description

The 1 span, 180'-long, pin-connected Camelback thru truss bridge is traditionally composed of built-up compression members and eyebar tension members. It has A-frame portals but the builders plaques shown in 1980s ODOT survey photos are no longer present.

Integrity

New galvanized corrugated deck, 1995.

Summary of Significance

The 1904 pin-connected Camelback thru truss bridge is a complete example of its type/design. This bridge type/design was developed in the 1870s and 1880s, so it is not an early example in the evolution of the technology, but it is the oldest surviving example in the Ohio inventory. There has been no change in the bridge's status since the prior inventory. The eligible recommendation remains appropriate.

Camelback and Parker trusses are members of the Pratt-family of trusses with sloped top chords Technologically, Camelback and Parker trusses differ only in the number of top chord slopes (Camelbacks have exactly five slopes, and Parkers have more than five slopes.) The sloped-chord trusses provide the greatest depth at midspan where it is needed to accommodate the stresses, meaning that less material is needed in their construction as compared to a parallel chord truss of similar span, but fabrication is made more difficult due to the varying lengths of the members. The sloped-chord trusses are often associated with longer spans where the savings in material is great enough to be worth the additional fabrication costs. The practice of sloping the top chords dates to at least the 1840s and appeared early in the development of metal trusses. As with other truss designs, pin connections were used from the 1870s to 1900s, and mostly phased out during the 1910s. Rivet connections were being used by the early 1900s and were prevalent from the 1910s to 1940s. Standardized rivet-connected Camelback and Parker designs were used by many state highway departments, including the Ohio State Highway Department. There are 23 trusses (8 Camelback, 15 Parker) in the Ohio inventory (Phase 1A, 2008).

Justification

The pin connected thru truss bridge is one of 13 extant examples of bridges with polygonal upper chords and/or subdivided panels in the state that date from 1888 until 1923. It is of moderate significance given that the numbers in the population.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes

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Maps and Links: Pyrmont Road Bridge

Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude):

Search For Additional Bridge Listings:

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

2021 National Bridge Inventory: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

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