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Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| Fudge Road Bridge | Truss | Fudge Road | Preble County, OH | Rural | Aukerman Creek |
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Technical Facts |
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Construction Date |
Structure Length | Roadway Width | Builder |
| 1913 | 90.88 Feet | 15.75 Feet | Central States Bridge Company of Indianapolis, IN |
In general, half-hip Pratt pony truss bridges tend to be smaller, while standard Pratt pony trusses are larger. This bridge, as well as Preble County's Factory Road Bridge, break with this classification, demonstrating how diverse the truss bridge world is. This is perhaps the largest and most massive half-hip Pratt pony truss I have seen. For any pin connected pony truss, it is quite long, and has quite high trusses as a result. The bridge retains original lattice railings. V-lacing is present on the vertical members and under the top chord and end posts. Cambria steel stampings were found as well as Eastern steel stamps.
Even the deck is original, as it is a jack-arch deck. Jack arch decks might have been quite common back in the day, but few examples survive today. The jack-arch deck is not really impressive, but it is something different to note on a bridge. It consists of what looks like half of a corrugated steel culvert spanning each deck stringer. The concrete was poured on top of the corrugated steel as well as the deck beams to form the deck and riding surface. It is likely that few of these decks survive because the corrugated steel would rust and fall out, and the concrete would start breaking up afterward. Plus, decks are a common thing to replace on a bridge, as they tend to wear out quickly. Since the materials used to make a jack arch deck are still around, it would be neat to see this bridge restored, with a new jack arch deck.
