Blissfield Railroad Bridge

Railroad bridges should present a solid example to road commissions and DOTs everywhere. Here is a beautiful truss bridge built in 1907 that stands today fulfilling its original purpose with no restrictions in like-new condition. If the railroad companies can do this, than why can't highway departments? The answer is they can. However, with millions of honest people paying taxes, the government has a nearly unlimited source of income. Not to mention its infinite credit limit, as demonstrated by the national debt. As such, it can waste money by demolishing bridges and rebuilding them. It is easier to not maintain a bridge and simply rebuild it, although it is much more costly. Despite this unrestrained government spending, they pretend they are penny-pinching and design bridges that are simple and ugly with no decorative attention. In contrast to all of this, railroad companies are a business, and it is in their best interest to make their dollar stretch as far as possible. As such, they actually maintain their bridges, and keep paint on them. In addition, most railroad bridges are old, and in the case of their truss bridges, feature the intricate detail and beauty characteristic of the truss bridge world. Very rarely do railroad companies tear down their bridges.

The Blissfield Railroad Bridge is a perfect example of all of this. Sitting next to a flat, ugly slab-of-concrete highway bridge this railroad bridge soars above that ugly structure with beautiful latticed members organized in a Baltimore truss configuration. The fresh grey paint on this bridge makes the bridge look nice and neat, and easily dispels any thoughts of ugly industry that some people associate railroad bridges with. Even the plaques, crediting the American Bridge Company with building the bridge in 1907, are painted green to make them stand out. This bridge is similar to the Rockwood Railroad Bridge, both of which have the interesting star-like portal bracing design on them.