Day Road Bridge

"Wakeman's Highway Bridge"

The Story on Erie Canal Bridges and Day Road Bridge

This bridge is nearly identical to the Canal Road Bridge. These bridges appear to have been built over the Erie Canal around the 1910s in rural locations. Dirt approaches provided a clearance that was large enough for the boats of the time to pass under. In urban locations where there was not enough room for the dirt approaches, vertical lift bridges like Adams Street in Lockport were built. As such, these bridges were standard plan bridges. On the other hand, I have never seen bridges that look like Adams Street or this Day Road Bridge anywhere but here at the Erie Canal. What makes this Day Road Bridge unusual is mainly its truss configuration. Weslee Kinsler, webmaster of Oklahoma Bridges page helped clear up what the configuration of these bridges are. These Erie Canal bridges are rare examples of double-intersection warren truss bridges, also known as quadrangular warren truss bridges. You can see another example of this structure type with one of the bridges on his page here. Note that this Oklahoma bridge is built around the same time, but it less massive. These Erie Canal bridges are quite massive considering their construction date.

Either way, the aesthetic appearance of this bridge when viewed from a distance is like that of a lattice truss. This gives this bridge a unique appearance to it. Also, this bridge was built at a time when members and chords were becoming more massive, but had not grown to the size of the giant 1930s truss bridge.

A Restoration

This bridge has been restored. The approaches and abutments for the bridge are concrete and were completely reconstructed as part of the restoration. The actual truss bridge retains good integrity, with original lattice guardrails still present behind the modern guardrails of the bridge. The deck of the bridge is metal grating. I am unsure if the original deck would have been metal grating. I would guess that it was not. It might have originally been wood or concrete. No builder plaques survive on the bridge, but an informational plaque lists the builder as Empire Engineering Corp. It lists the bridge as being built in 1909 and restored in 2003. The restoration of this bridge retained its one-lane width, and the weight limit of the bridge is 20 tons.

Proving the Safety and Function of Truss Bridges

A stop sign is posted at each end with an "all way." sign below. This makes the cars stop to see if anybody is coming before proceeding across the bridge. It also slows the traffic down so they are not crossing at 50MPH. The reason I mention this is because when I write my county road commission and ask if they would consider restoring a one-lane truss bridge for vehicular traffic, they give excuses that are resolved at Day Road. Many of these excuses dissolve in value here at Day Road. I have had them tell me that one-lane bridges are dangerous, and only two-lane bridges are acceptable. This idea is dispelled by the stop signs. With the stop signs, the bridge is no more a hazard than a four-way stop intersection. I have also been told that all bridges must carry 80 or more tons so that trucks can travel. My argument was that trucks should not be on quiet rural roads and so a high weight limit is not needed. This is the approach that has been taken on the Erie Canal. Every few bridges there is a new, unlimited weight limit bridge present that trucks could use. The other bridges, running from at least the town of Orangeport down through Lockport are all historic, and have around a 20 ton weight limit.

Additional Information

While at this bridge, two friendly state police officers stopped by, and we talked about the bridges in the area. They said that there were more of these bridges further down the canal, including one that has not been restored, and is closed to traffic. I tried to find this bridge but must have not followed their directions right, and did not locate it. They also said that New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) had planned on tearing these truss bridges down, but the Erie Canal authorities put out some money to save these bridges and preserve the historic feel of the canal. I was glad they told me this, because the plaques that are posted near the bridge credit NYSDOT with restoring the bridge. They may have restored the bridge, but apparently they only did it because the Erie Canal people helped out. It is really the Erie Canal that deserves to be thanked for allowing these treasures to remain on the canal.