Ausable Road Bridge

Most Recent Visit To Bridge: August 5, 2006

This bridge is a Warren pony truss with riveted connections, and is composed of uncommon lightweight steel members. Less massive steel members were sometimes used on truss bridges when money was a concern, and lighter members would reduce bridge cost at the sacrifice of strength. Despite the fact that this was a budget-bridge when built, it has still stood the test of time, even with a lack of paint on it. The only thing that needs attention is the wooden deck. A sandblasting, a coat of paint and a new wooden deck would restore this bridge and keep it in service for future generations to enjoy. This bridge features latticed outriggers and large lattice railings. These railings do not feature the angle-shaped steel on the lattice that composes many Ontario bridges. This may be because the bridge is older than other Ontario truss bridges.

There are builder plaques on this bridge that are very unusual because the wording and background on them is ceramic coating over steel plate. This is unlike most builder plaques I have ever seen that use cast iron or bronze to form a large block with raised lettering. The ceramic design was perhaps less common for a good reason: the plaques on this bridge are in horrible shape and the ceramic is all but eroded off of them. There was still enough left for me to assess that this bridge was built by the Hamilton Bridge Company of Hamilton, Ontario in 190-something... the last number is totally gone.