Dixon Road Bridge

"TR-242 Bridge"

Visit Historic Bridges of the Midwest's Page For This Historic Bridge

Most Recent Visit: May 7, 2006

About This Unusual Bridge Design

This bridge is one of a number of unusual pony truss bridges built by the Champion Bridge Company in Preble County well after the truss bridge era had come to a close. Anyone who has traveled Ohio for any period of time has undoubted found that modern "welded connection" metal truss bridges are built on roads today, often replacing historic metal truss bridges. Composed completely of i-beams, these bridges at first glance seem to be those welded mocker-of-a-truss-bridge structures. However a closer inspection, which will reveal riveted connections, riveted railings, and builder plaques will quickly prove otherwise. These bridges offer a lot more to look at than a 21st century truss bridge. On the other hand, they lack considerable value when compared to older truss bridges like the Fairhaven Bridge.

The 1950s and 1960s were the final home run of a transition from aesthetic bridge design to "purely functional" bridge design, where the "art" in bridge building came to a close thus ending a tradition of beauty in bridges. As a result, this bridge, with a 1958 construction date, represents the end of this transition. While it still has aesthetic value, mainly in the old-fashioned rivets and railings, it is quite plain, with its i-beams. Although the construction of this bridge is more traditional, with a box-shaped top chord, this bolted connection bridge in Ontario also represents this time period as well.

About the Dixon Road Bridge

The Dixon Road Bridge is one of the shortest of these bridges in Preble County. Champion Bridge Company must have been offering good deals on its bridges to be able to convince a county to erect a truss bridge on a crossing that could have easily been spanned by the steel beams of the day.