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Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| Old Rip Rap Road Bridge | Truss | Old Rip Rap Road (Great Miami Recreational Trail) | Montgomery County, OH | Dayton | Great Miami River |
Built 1923 over Great Miami River, this bridge once served an old alignment of Rip Rap Road. It is a stunning example of the Pennsylvania truss configuration. Characteristic of bridges built in the later portions of the truss bridge era, the members are fairly massive, and the connections are riveted. There is extensive v-lacing and lattice on the structure, which sits on concrete abutments. There are roller bearings present at the west end of the structure.
This bridge must have some interesting stories to tell, mostly of recent years. From what I can figure, this is the bridge's original location, and it used to carry Rip Rap Road over the river, where if you were heading south, you would follow the river for a bit and cross the river again at the south end. The south end crossing is today a modern galvanized Bailey truss bridge that is today closed to public traffic, although it can be unlocked to lead to a well field. At some point Rip Rap Road was apparently re-aligned to run on the other side of the river completely, and so this bridge was no longer needed, and the closed bailey served any authorized vehicles that needed to get over there. The bridge however has been beautifully restored, and it now serves as a dead-end part of the Great Miami Recreation Trail bike path that runs along Rip Rap Road north of the bridge. I say it is the end of the path, because there is a fence at the east end of this bridge blocking further travel. This website said that the bridge had to be restored because of the way that the funding was provided for making the Rip Rap Road bike trail, but there are currently no plans to extend the trail beyond the bridge. I am extremely happy that the bridge is preserved, but it seems odd that they would restore it if they did not intend to continue to bike path over to the other side. I am happy for a change to see a bridge with historic and aesthetic value being restored just for the sake of preserving the bridge, even if it doesn't serve a purpose. The bridge itself is a purpose to preserve it in my opinion, and it appears that the folks who manage the trail funding agree with me.
