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Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| Kennedy Mill Bridge | Truss | Frew Mill Road | Lawrence County, PA | Rural (Kennedy Mill) | Slippery Rick Creek |
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Technical Facts |
|
Construction Date |
Structure Length | Deck Width | Bridge Designer |
| 1928 | 80 Feet | 20 Feet | Thomas Gilkey |
The only thing that Pennsylvania and Preservation have in common is the same first letter.
Despite less-than-fair weather during the early morning hours of this day, I still managed to get decent photos of this bridge. In fact, some the photos have an eerie, dreamlike quality to them, with some thin fog present, and the early morning sun on the bridge. It is a good thing the photos came out decent, because a dream is all this bridge will be soon, thanks to PennDOT who is demolishing this bridge.
This is a bridge where even with any historic significance set aside, should be preserved for its aesthetic value. Its pleasant arch shape, coupled with attractive v-lacing on some members make this a beautiful bridge. In addition, Slippery Rock Creek is indeed filled with rocks, and this bridges location near some mill ruins makes this a very scenic area. The old mill ruins has left a rapids-like feature in the river.
This is a polygonal top chord Warren pony truss. It is supported by stone abutments. Original pole railings remain on the bridge. There is v-lacing on some diagonals. This bridge was designed by Thomas Gilkey, and engineer who designed a wide variety of truss structures for Lawrence County, including the newer span of the Churchill Road Bridge, and the Mahoning Avenue Viaduct. Gilkey traditionally favored pin connections, even into the 1910s, but apparently by the 1920s he gave them up and switched to riveted connections as seen on this bridge.
