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Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| McAdam Road Bridge | Truss | McAdam Road | Middlesex County, Ontario | Rural | Ausable River |
The maps all show the road this bridge is on as McAdam Road, although it is likely it was once the old River Drive. This bridge was possbily closed because nearby Kerwood Road Bridge made it redundant. The bridge was still in use by a local four-wheeler when I was there. The bridge is closed, but not blocked by anything other than a post. I see no reason why this bridge could not be restored for light traffic. It has great significance as a historically intact example of an unusual bridge design apparently built off and on around this areas of Ontario. There is another bridge very similar to this one on Cameron Road in Lambton County. The truss configuration is double-intersection Warren. The McAdam Road Bridge varies from the Cameron Road Bridge a bit, mainly in terms of its members and chords design. Where all the members and chords on Cameron Road had lattice, all the members and chords on McAdam Road have v-lacing. The Cameron Road Bridge appears to be a slightly longer structure, so perhaps that is why the larger latticed members were used. This bridge design is noted for a low endpost slope angle. This may explain why there is those extra members leading from half-way up the endpost to the bottom chord. Unlike Cameron Road, this bridge retains its original lattice railings.
