1955 Lewisville Lake Dam on East (Elm) Fork Trinity River upstream of Dallas, TX

(Satellite)

USACE

The USACE completed this dam in 1955 to replace the Lake Dallas Dam. Construction of the Lake Dallas Dam began in 1928 as "the principal source of municipal water for its owner, the city of Dallas." It was 80' (24.4m) high and 11,000' (3.4km) long. This dam is 125' (38m) high and 33,000' (10km) long. "The huge lake that resulted was thirteen miles long, had a 183-mile shoreline and a capacity of 436,000 acre-feet at an elevation of 515 feet, and covered almost one-fifth of Denton County." [tshaonline]

This twdb source has different capacity figures than the above source has. Since the main functions of this dam are water supply and flood control, lake capacities are important.

twdb
The elevation at the top of dam is 560 feet above mean sea level, while the maximum designed water surface is at the elevation of 553 feet above mean sea level. At top of flood control pool (crest of emergency spillway), at an elevation of 532 feet above mean sea level, the lake covers 39,170 acres and stores 989,700 acre feet of water. At the top of the conservation pool, at an elevation of 522 feet above mean sea level, the lake covers 27,175 acres and stores 598,902 acre feet of water.

To add to the confusion, this source says the dam "holds back 2 million acre-feet, or 2.5 billion tons [0.6 trillion gallons], of water when the lake is full."  The normal definition of "full" is the conservation pool, 522'. They must be defining "full" as the maximum designed water surface, 553'. Note that 31' (9.4m) of water would be flowing over the spillway and the water would be within 7' (2.1m) from the top if the reservoir ever got this full.

Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers posted five photos with the comment: "Construction of the Lewisville Lake dam was completed in August 1955. For more than 70 years the lake has been providing flood risk management for the Lewisville area and downstream communities along with supplying water to neighboring communities and recreational opportunities."

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This is not the spillway. It is the outlet.

YouTube Short

This is the spillway. I had a hard time finding it because it is way off to the side. Probably so that the water will flow over more competent riverbank soil. In fact, looking at a satellite image, under a thin layer of soil is bedrock.

The spillway apron obviously needs repair work. I wonder how many times water has flowed over this spillway. (I looked through past Google Earth images. A few times, and the apron has been torn up and repaired before.)

Google Earth, Jun 2022 (Satellite)

The next Google Earth images shows that they had started much needed repair work on the spillway.

Google Earth, Jun 2023

The latest image available shows that they are still working on it.

Google Earth, Oct 2025

Dec 12, 2015

DallasNews
"Sandbags and tarps have been deployed in an attempt to prevent further erosion of a 160-foot-long slide on the Lewisville Dam. To engineers, the slide’s proximity to another major one that happened in 1995 suggests instability that could threaten the dam’s foundation."
The Dam Called Trouble
[Read the article, there were too many issues for me to summarize. Of note, there was a sand boil and piping during a rainstorm in an area that had leaked for years. Fortunately, the operations team was able to stop the piping by placing "a one-layer ring of sandbags around the sand boil, allowing the pool of water inside to rise about six inches. The method is supposed to equalize the pressure and prevent the water and soil particles from expanding."
Also of particular note, a breech "would submerge downtown Dallas in roughly 50 feet of water, the Corps estimates, causing more than $21 billion in property damage....“It would be a much bigger magnitude to the Dallas area than Hurricane Katrina was to New Orleans,” says Vazquez [The dam's operational manager]."]

$39.1m was awarded in 2019 to improve drain seepage areas. [news_2019] (I wonder what was used for the core for this dam. Or did they not bother to put a cutoff wall in the foundation. More drains sounds like a patch, not a fix.)

$76.1m was awarded in 2022 to repair the spillway. This time they will anchor the apron to the underlying bedrock using post-tensioned anchors. [news_2022]

RED ALERT: bogus AI. If they are going to use AI, I guess it is good that it is really bad so that you know it is AI. The "photo" itself is obviously bogus because many of the diagonal rods don't make sense. But when you compare the "photo" to the real spillway, it becomes absurd.

OceanCraft RC posted

At Lewisville Lake Dam in Texas, engineers are strengthening the spillway by drilling more than 70 high-capacity post-tensioned anchors through the concrete and deep into the underlying bedrock.

The anchors essentially lock the spillway to the rock below, increasing resistance against uplift and sliding when enormous water pressures act beneath the structure during floods.

1956-2025 Long Creek Bridge over Table Rock Lake on White River at Ridgedale, MO

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

The 1757' (536m) long bridge has a main span of 480' (146m). [BridgeHunter]

Table Rock Aerial Photography posted

Happy Monday Morning Table Rock Lake! Today's post is the Long Creek Bridge over Table Rock Lake on Hwy. 86, outside of Ridgedale, MO. I was headed home late afternoon on Thanksgiving Day after shooting in Branson, and thought I'd take the time to shoot this bridge. In another two years, the MDOT is supposed to start construction on the replacement bridge - an uncovered open deck bridge. 

Enjoy this bridge while you still can - the replacement won't be a truss bridge😢 I'll need to get more photos of this bridge over the next couple of years!

And now that cooler weather is here, I'll probably go back to posting about 3 times a week, more if I get the opportunity to shoot.

Have a great week and stay safe!

Vintage Missouri posted four photos with the comment:

WHEN THE WHITE RIVER BECAME TABLE ROCK LAKE — KIMBERLING CITY, MISSOURI

These incredible photographs capture a landscape that would soon disappear beneath the waters of Table Rock Lake.

The smaller bridge seen below was the old Highway 13 bridge across the White River near Kimberling City, built in 1927. For three decades it carried travelers through this rugged part of Stone County.

Then came Table Rock Dam.

With the new reservoir planned, engineers knew the old bridge would soon be far below the lake’s surface. A much taller Highway 13 bridge was constructed in 1956–57, its massive concrete piers rising high above the old White River valley.

These photographs show the remarkable period when both bridges could still be seen at the same time — the old bridge down in the valley and its towering replacement overhead.

A huge thanks goes out to Steven Buschart  for letting us feature these, taken by his grandfather Robert Buschart Sr. In 1958.

As the waters behind Table Rock Dam rose, the old Highway 13 bridge was submerged. Much of it was never removed, and portions of the steel bridge still remain beneath Table Rock Lake today. Divers and sonar images have documented the remains deep below the surface. (Historic Bridges)

It is hard to imagine looking at Table Rock Lake today, but beneath all that water are old roads, fields, creek bottoms — and pieces of the bridge that once carried motorists across the White River.

These photos captured the Ozarks literally between two eras — after the new bridge was built, but before the old world below disappeared beneath Table

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This is looking East so the new bridge was just south of the 1956 bridge.

Street View, Aug 2024

modot
The bridge cost $66.5m. 

Feb 26, 2025. Normally, you have to wait a while before the detonation. This one didn't start rolling until after the detonation so we don't see the truss fall into the water.

Lake30

Mar 17, 2025.

Lake30

86 Long Creek Bridge💥

Table Rock Lake - it’s LAKE30!

Lake30 commented on their post
They are still cleaning up

Aug 20-21, 2026: I-70 Closed by Flood, Buckeye Lake Dams and Ohio & Erie Canal

I-70 Flood: (Satellite, see images below for road closures.)

Ungated Dam: (Satellite) This is also the Ohio & Erie Canal to the North.

Gated Dam: (Satellite)

O&E Canal to the South: (Satellite, the canal is still used to Lancaster Street. It grows algae for a couple more miles.)

Note the timestamp in the upper-left corner. I used Street View to confirm that exit 129 is OH-79 or Hebron Road, which goes to Buckeye Lake.

Meteorologist Chris Vickers posted
I-70 CLOSED: Record flooding on the South Fork Licking River near Buckeye Lake has flooded and closed I-70 east of Columbus. The river is still rising and will pass record flood stage Friday afternoon. ODOT says the interstate will remain closed until water recedes.

Sandi Douglass: This is definitely not the first time I-70 has been closed due to flooding. I grew up in Licking County and remember lots of flooding from the Buckeye Lake area.

Tim Clark:  just got off of 40, why in the hell wouldn’t the State have someone directing traffic at all the red lights? 

[Several comments indicating other years that I-70 was closed because of flooding. Although one case was because of a dam problem rather than because of excessive rain.

I recognize Licking River because its mouth with the Muskingum River is under the Y-Bridge in Zanesville, OH.]

The Columbus Dispatch posted

The Ohio Department of Transportation is currently studying flood mitigation for I-70 near Buckeye Lake, an ODOT spokesperson said. 

bit.ly/45Gmwp4 [paywall]

📸 Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch

Tom Wolfe: 30 years of study, look at it, NOW fix it and add 3 lanes! America’s highway.

[I just saw a video that Missouri is going to rebuild I-70 with three lanes all the way across the state.]

This (Aug 21, 2026) is the second day I looked, and I-70 is still closed. (I didn't save the image the first day I looked, which is when it first closed.) And look at the traffic jams on US-40.

Satellite

Aug 22, 2026: only the ramps for southbound traffic on Hebron Road are closed. The stream labeled South Fork Licking River is downstream of the Ungated Dam. The little treeline threading its way North through the intersection is the stream that is downstream from the Gated Dam.

Satellite

Meteorologist Nick Dunn posted

I-70 STILL CLOSED: As of 2PM, water still covers all of I-70 in Licking County near Buckeye Lake. The South Fork Licking River continues to remain well above flood stage this afternoon even though it has crested. The river was about 6 inches away from tying the record for the highest crest.

It will likely be late this evening or sometime tomorrow morning before all lanes of I-70 can be safely reopened. This is only the 3rd time in the last 10 years this closure has happened, with 2020 being the most recent time. - 2:02 PM 8/21/2026

Becky Warner: Only? Three times in 10 years is three times too often. And you wouldn't believe the smell from the rotting vegetation after the water table goes back down. [Other comments reacted to the use of "only."]

Jeremy Moses: It was closer than that.

The record crest was 882.89'. All indications are that the river hit 882.82', which is only 0.84" from the record!

All Things Ohio posted

🌊 Central Ohio woke up under water after heavy overnight rain turned highways into rivers and forced an entire village to clear out. The Ohio Department of Transportation shut down Interstate 70 in both directions in Licking County near Buckeye Lake on Aug. 20, closing eastbound lanes past State Route 158 at Kirkersville and westbound lanes at U.S. 40, with the closure expected to last into the following day. 🚧 The South Fork Licking River was forecast to crest at 883.5 feet, a level the National Weather Service said would be a record, surpassing the 882.9 feet mark set in March 2020.

The Village of Buckeye Lake ordered a mandatory evacuation starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 for all properties west of State Route 79, in effect for 24 hours unless the mayor lifted it sooner. In Columbus, city crews activated the Franklinton floodwall as river levels climbed, firefighters carried out water rescues during the early morning hours, and a stretch of Interstate 71 between I-70 and I-270 was closed after high water covered the roadway. ⚠️

James O'Donovan: Just to close again Saturday as another storm approaching and heat will make it worse in rain fall. [I noticed that Google Maps displayed a "Severe Thunderstorm Watch" when I accessed it Saturday, Aug 22.]

This stretch of the Ohio & Erie Canal is a summit. They built Buckeye Lake to supply water during droughts.

Ungated Dam

Note that the O&E Canal follows the Bank Road and then the Canal Road to the north. The canal remains intact until it gets to Hebron, OH.

Fairfield County Emergency Management Agency posted

Following the recent flooding from heavy rainfall and runoff, we understand why the attached images raised some concerns about a possible dam breach.

Thank you to those who saw something that looked concerning and brought it to the attention of public safety. We’d rather have you ask than overlook something that could be a real issue.

We want to reassure everyone that there is no dam breach and no safety risk.

The appearance is being caused by weeds and organic material growing across the surface of the spillway, which is changing how the water disperses as it flows over the dam.

We appreciate everyone looking out for their neighbors and speaking up when something doesn’t look right. That’s exactly the right thing to do!

Gated Dam

Street View, May 2025

Bonus

Beaver Run Road in Pataskala is broke.

Kyle Stevens commented on a post
Here is a photo from Pataskala

The closed segment of Beaver Road crosses two streams. It is the one I pinned because Street View shows it uses a culvert. The eastern stream has a bridge.

Satellite

1894,1999 Pickering Road Bridge over Pickering Creek in Chester County PA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Street View, Sep 2019

Metrotrails posted

A view of the Pickering Road Bridge in Charlestown Township, Chester County Pennsylvania.

The through pony truss structure was built in 1894 by John Denithorne and the Sons of Phoenixville Pennsylvania.

It was rehabilitated in 1999, and is technically a replacement steel stringer bridge, with the trusses affixed for decoration.

One uncommon thing is that the narrowness of the road was retained during this rehabilitation, which serves as, but is almost never considered, a traffic calming device. 

It's the bridge were to be replaced and straightened, it would certainly lead to much more speeding and dangerous conditions on what is otherwise a lovely road for walking or cycling.

Metrotrails shared

HistoricBridges
[Nathan calls this replacement a rehabilitation instead of a demolition. Not only were the trusses reused, but the narrow width also retains the "feel" of the original bridge.]

2025 Bur Oak Trail Bridge over White River at Carmel, IN

(Satellite)

YouAreCurrent
The bridge opened Oct 20, 2025.
"The 500-foot [152m] span links Carmel’s Hazel Landing Park and Fishers’ Heritage Park. The bridge provides pedestrians access to three major rail trails in suburban north Indianapolis. They are Zionsville’s Big Four Rail Trail, Carmel’s Monon Greenway and Fishers’ Nickel Plate Trail."

CarmelClayParks

The $11 million project was made possible through a collaborative regional investment, with funding contributions from:

• Clay Township – $5 million through its Impact Program
• Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation – $3 million
• Hamilton County – $1.6 million
• Delaware Township – $1.3 million
• City of Fishers – $400,000

[fishersin]

I learned of this bridge while studying a flood destroying a bridge in Carmel. I think this video was taken before any of the work on the dams had begun.

2:24 video @ 1:42 via Dennis DeBruler
2026 Indy Flood: BILLIONS of Gallons Filling the Martin Marietta Surface Mine from the White River

2:24 video @ 2:13

1923-67 US-66 Bridge over Little Piney Creek at Arlington, MO

(no Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite, coordinates from BridgeHunter. I think it was further west because of the topo map below and because US-66 went through Arlington.)

I'm confused about the location because Missouri archive photo near the bottom of these notes shows a sharp curve just before the bridge, but the postcard just below does not have that curve. The topo map below shows a curve at Arlington, MO, and then a straight shot across the creek.

US-66 Overview

Postcard via BridgeHunter

Route 66 Postcards posted two photos with the comment:

Little Piney Bridge at Arlington, Missouri, Route 66, circa the 1950s.

   This photo is courtesy of 66postcards.

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"Looking East. Original 1923 bridge on the right in use for EB traffic. 1952 bridges at left used for WB traffic. The original (EB) bridge was removed in 1967." Missouri State Archives via BridgeHunter

"Original Route 66 plunged downhill and turned sharply onto a railroad bridge and a five span through truss Pratt Through Truss over the Little Pinery built in 1923. This was the last section of US 66 in Missouri to be paved, completed on January 5, 1931. In 1932, the railroad bridge was replaced with a concrete slab. In 1952, Route 66 was expanded to four lanes, with a concrete girder and a Steel Girder to carry westbound traffic. The old bridge continued to carry EB I-44 until 1967. The 1952 bridges were replaced in 2005 and the 1967 bridge was re-habbed." [BridgeHunter]

I remember Arlington, MO, from when I studied the Frisco Depot. See those notes for more information of US-66.

1950/57 Newburg Quad @ 24,000 via Dennis DeBruler

1965 NS/(CNJ+Lehigh Valley) and 1924 Hill to Hill Bridges over Lehigh River in Bethlehem, PA

Railroad: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Hill to Hill: (no Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

2017 photo by Royce and Bobette Haley via BridgeHunter_railroad
Looking East - Hill to Hill Bridge in background

A view of the railroad bridge from the road bridge.

Street View, Oct 2014

The steel girder span on the left is part of the railroad bridge. This shows that the Hill-to-Hill Bridge is a closed spandrel concrete arch bridge over the river. There are trusses at each end because there used to be a lot of tracks in this town.

Street View, Jul 2024

HistoricBridges_railroad
"This classic railroad truss bridge sits in the shadow of the large Hill-To-Hill Bridge. The plate girder section was rebuilt in 1965 by Bethlehem Steel Company. It is not known if Bethlehem constructed the original through truss main spans as well, nor when those original spans date to."

"Significance: The Hill-to-Hill Bridge was the first bridge to join the boroughs of the City of Bethlehem with a high-level structure eliminating all railroad grade crossings. The structure, constructed almost entirely of reinforced concrete, owed its unusual shape to the eight access ramp structures that fed traffic to the Main Bridge avoiding numerous railroad tracks." [HAER_data]

This overview shows that much of the bridge is a viaduct over the flood plain to avoid city congestion. 

HAER PA,48-BETH,17--1
1. Overall view - Hill-to-Hill Bridge, Spans Lehigh River at State Route 378, Bethlehem, Northampton County, PA

This view shows part of the viaduct that goes all the way to the ancient riverbank.

Street View, Aug 2023

E. Miller, Jan 2024

Metrotrails posted
A view from the Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, with the rail bridge across the Lehigh River that connected the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Bethlehem Branch with the Central Railroad of New Jersey on the north side.
Metrotrails shared

ArchivedBridgeHunter_railroad indicates that the predecessor to NS was Reading. So, was Lehigh Valley a predecessor to Reading? The topo maps label the railroad south of the river as Lehigh Valley until it is labeled Conrail.

1957/60 Allentown Quad @ 62,500

Metrotrails posted

A view at one of the accesses to the Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem Pennsylvania.

The current Hill to Hill Bridge was completed in 1924 to replace the aged covered bridge that was constantly in need of repairs. The new bridge is a symbol of the combining of the municipalities of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem to become the City of Bethlehem. Originally, Hill to Hill Bridge had about 11 points of access. Many were cut off with the development of Rt 378.

Bridges shared