Clarks Mill Road Bridge

Most Recent Visit: July 4, 2006

This historic bridge was demolished in 2007

This Bridge Listed On www.oldohiobridges.com

This bridge is a fairly short version of a number of Ohio truss bridges that I nicknamed "medallion bridges" which are noted for their distinctive, large decorative plaques on the portal, and often have other miscellaneous decorations present. These medallion bridges however are not the oldest of metal truss bridges, nor do they appear to be the creative design of a bridge company as one might expect. They almost look like a very early state standard plan bridge. For instance, the plaque on this bridge listed an engineer rather than a builder, and it has a bridge number on it. You don't find that sort of a plaque on an older truss bridge built by a bridge company. Like Michigan's concrete camelback bridges, some early standard plans still incorporated aesthetics into the plan, and this may be Ohio's example of that early standardization.

This bridge is a six panel pin connected through truss. It features an a-frame portal bracing, with decorative designs on top. The a-frame has some v-lacing on the steel that makes it up. V-lacing is also present on the verticals and sway bracing, as well as under the top chord / end post. Original lattice railings remain on the bridge. The bridge is sitting on stone abutments.

This bridge was listed as being demolished in 2006, although when I visited it in July of 2006, I saw no signs of contractors arriving yet. Based on the condition of the deck however, something does need to be done with this bridge. A restoration might be a better idea. Columbiana County has rehabilitated a number of other truss bridges in the county, I see no reason to demolish this bridge. The deck is almost certainly original, as it is a jack-arch deck. Michigan truss bridge enthusiasts are likely no stranger to the jack-arch deck, although I don't find this deck type in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It may have to do with the fact that i Pennsylvania and Ohio, the decks have all been replaced at some time. A jack arch deck doesn't last forever. Most of Michigan's jack arch decks appears on long-abandoned truss bridges, of which there are many in Michigan. So what is a jack arch deck? It is essentially taking what looks like halves of a steel corrugated culvert, and spanning the bottom of the deck stringers, and then pouring concrete on top, which mostly seals the deck stringers in, and creates a wearing surface. I have a large photo in the gallery to help show the design. The problem with a jack-arch deck is over time the corrugated steel rusts out and falls away. Then, if the concrete starts to break up, it falls into the river too, and starts to create holes in the deck. Such is the case with the Clarks Mills Road Bridge, where the deck has required plate steel to be placed on the bridge in spots. I could see through to the water in another spot. Considering that the deck has remained the same without any other repairs since 1913, this really isn't that bad though. Decks are often the first thing to need repair on a truss bridge, besides routine painting.