Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Lock and Dam #15 on New York State Barge Canal and River Road Bridge near Fort Plain, NY

L&D #15: (Satellite)
Bridge: (Bridge Hunter; Historic BridgesSatellite)

I have yet to figure out how the gates work on the dams of the New York State Barge Canal.
Street View, Oct 2024

Street View, Aug 2024

John Kucko Digital posted a photo courtesy of Brian Tryzciak.
[That is the Seneca Chief replica in the lock.]
Kathy Hanna: The lock @ Canajoharie? Great picture!
Dennis DeBruler: Kathy Hanna Given that the dam is touching the lock, I think it is E15 at Fort Plain, https://maps.app.goo.gl/3ZpxHu6XWQVNNJyZA, instead of E14 at Canajoharie, https://maps.app.goo.gl/qaak6xmuuxyh2UgA6.

nycanalmap

The bridge from which I took the top street view is a truss bridge. I tried researching it, but I could not find any information on it. 
Street View, Sep 2014

I did find a unique 1910 cantilever bridge that is further upstream for River Road.
HistoricBridges
Bridge E-28
"The bridge was originally configured as a traditional simple span through truss with concrete piers, but the plate girder cantilever alteration was added when the canal was widened in 1948, which resulted in the removal of one of the concrete piers for the through truss."


Other bridges in Fort Plain that I found during the research.

A 1931 truss bridge over the Otsquago Creek.  (Satellite)
2021 photo by Geoff Hubbs via Bridge Hunter

Lost Erie Canal Bridges
Postcard via Bridge Hunter

The 1914 New York State Barge Canal channelized the Mohawk River in this area. The original canal was a traditional canal above the riverbank.  The buildings in the above image were along the east side of Canal Street, and the canal was effectively an alley for those buildings. It appears that today's Legion Street was built on the canal's right-of-way.  The bridge in the image is probably Main Street or River Street. I guessed Main Street: (Satellite)
1898/1954 Canajoharie Quad
The canal, railroad and road were squeezed tightly between the bluff and the river south of town.

1835+1871+1903+1956,2019 Main Street Bridges over Great Miami River in Dayton, OH

1835: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)
1956: (Satellite)

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻: 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘀𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 and Ohio posted
The new Main Street Bridge • Dayton Ohio • early 1900s!

In the early 1900s, the City of Dayton replaced the steel bridge spanning Main Street with one made of reinforced concrete. The new bridge was built because the steel bridge could not carry the weight of electric street cars according to “On This Date In Dayton’s History” by historian Curt Dalton. The bridge was constructed in seven spans and was one of the first concrete bridges built. At 54-feet [16m] wide and 588-feet [149m] in length, it was said to be the longest in the world for a period of time, according to Dalton’s research. [Lisa Powell via DaytonDailyNews]

udayton
"Postcard depicting pile of wreckage in front of Main Street Bridge following the flood. Transcript of back reads 'Kraemer Art Cincinnati Postcard' Mass of Wreckage at Main St. Bridge Dayton, Ohio, during the Great Flood of March 1913."

In the first decade of the 20th Century, automobiles were still rare.
FreeLibrary

A different colorization.
ColumbusLibrary

And another colorization. Did the above artists add the car? That explains why it looks so skinny. They also added people.
1911 postcard via BridgeHunter_1903

Again, there are no automobiles.
Postcard via BridgeHunter_1903

I include an image with a streetcar since that is why this bridge was built.
BridgeHunter_1903

The original (1835) bridge was a covered bridge. It looks like the river is flooded.
BridgeHunter_1835

The 1871 bridge was an inverted-bowstring truss bridge.
BridgeHunter_1871

BridgeHunter_1871

An extract from THE BRIDGES OF DAYTON by Charles F. Sullivan
The Main street bridge was replaced by a steel structure, different from any other bridge I have ever seen. It was four spans, with a steel pillar upon each pier, and from the top of these was swung a steel bar down in a circular form and up to the top of the next pillar, so the arch of them was hanging instead of upright as usual. This allowed of much swinging of the bridge, without danger, but with the coming of the electric street cars, the people became afraid of it and the cars were required to pass each other at the piers, and the swinging was not as noticeable. Nothing ever happened there but eventually the bridge was condemned and about 1903 a temporary bridge was built below the bridge site and was used during the construction of the concrete bridge by H. E. Talbot & Co., the contractors. The old bridge was stored for a number of years and then two spans were erected at Summit street over Wolf creek, and a sign was placed at each end of the bridge, cautioning the public against heavy loads across it. One day two heavily loaded trucks going in opposite directions and at too high a speed, passed in the middle of a span, and that was too much and bridge and trucks all went into the creek bed, but no one received serious injury from it.
[ArchivedBridgeHunter_1871]
All of the elegant old buildings are gone.
Street View, Sep 2016

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

2003 Dom Henrique Bridge over Douro River between Porto and Gaia, Portugal

(Satellite)

The Maria Pia Bridge is in the background. And this bridge is in the background of some of the photos of that bridge.
Street View, Jun 2025

Robert Wood posted
Dom Henrique bridge over the river Douro linking Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.

WanderLog
"Ponte Infante Dom Henrique is a modern elevated road bridge in Porto, inaugurated in 2003. It pays homage to Prince Henry the Navigator and is known for its contemporary slim profile and stunning views across the Douro River. Designed by Adao da Fonseca and Francisco Millanes Mato, this iconic structure features a 280-meter concrete arch span, reaching a height of 72 meters."

behindagreatproject
"Achieving visual transparency implied placing the arch bases as high as practical up the riverbanks, which drove the 280 m main span and the relatively small arch rise of about 25 m. The resulting arch span-to-rise ratio of 11.2 exceeds the historic range of between 6 and 10. The arch itself has a constant thickness of 1.5 m, resulting in the record-setting slenderness of 186.7 – the conventional range falling between 40 and 90. Instead of curved profile, the arch follows a polygonal longitudinal profile with subtle kinks at each link pier, nearly approximating the antifunicular of the dead loads."
Most arch bridges have a stiff arch and a flexible deck. This bridge has a flexible arch and a stiff deck. That is, the big box-girder deck helps carry the loads. 

This photo provides a better view of the support and cables that provided the falsework during construction.
behindagreatproject

Removing the supports was a non-trivial operation in its own right.
behindagreatproject

1884 UP/D&RGW Bridge over Colorado River in Grand Junction, CO

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

Street View, Sep 2023

Street View, Oct 2014

Frank Keller Photography posted
The Montrose Local crosses the Colorado River just east of the confluence with the Gunnison River which it will follow south towards Delta on a miserable morning that would end up being on of the most satisfying days I ever spent along the Rio Grande.

c1903 photo via HistoricalFruitaPhotos via BridgeHunter

Not too many pin-connected trusses are carrying Class I loads in the 21st Century.
Trail View, Oct 2014

1889,1964, 2011 River Road Bridge over Pine Creek near Jersey Shore, PA

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

Black Bridge was the historical, and still is the local's, name for the bridge. [Harold Pepperman comment on BridgeHunter] Some sources call it the Jersey Shore Bridge. I choose to go with the road that it carries because Jersey Shore is already in the title.

HAER PA-614-18 (CT)
18. EAST ELEVATION - Pine Creek Bridge, River Road spanning Pine Creek, Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, PA

Significance: The Pine Creek Bridge is an outstanding example of a lenticular through truss. The lenticular, or parabolic, truss is a type developed during the mid-nineteenth century in Europe, but it enjoyed its greatest popularity in forms derived from designs by William O. Douglas and Charles Jarvis, engineers associated with the Berlin Iron Bridge Company. This company was the main producer ofthis unusual truss form, which was erected in many rural and urban settings throughout the United States between 1878 and 1900. The Pine Creek Bridge is one ofthe longest single span bridges (288' [88m]) remaining in a group of about fifty surviving lenticulars. Its Warren pattern web bracing was typical for such long lenticulars as were the highly decorated portals for such through truss bridges. The Pine Creek Bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1988. [HAER_data]

It is obviously a pin-connected truss.
Street View, Aug 2015

"This bridge was rehabilitated 2008-2011 extensively to continue to carry vehicular traffic at a high weight limit" [HistoricBridges]

I got an historic barrel shot to compare with the above shot of the rebuilt bridge because HistoricBridges complains about the changes that were made to the edge bracing.
PADOT found that the deterioration was much worse than they thought after they had disassembled the bridge. [Anonymous comment on BridgeHunter]
So, I'm just glad that they decided to rebuild a pin-connected Lenticular bridge complete with ornamentation.
HAER PA-614-2
2. SW PORTAL ELEVATION.

John Grubb II posted eight photos with the comment: "Bridge in Porter Township …Lycoming County Pennsylvania."
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2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Monday, October 13, 2025

1883+1896+1968 BNSF/Frisco Bridge over Verdigris River near Catoosa, OK

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; B&TSatellite)

Street View, May 2023

Bridges & Tunnels posted two photos with the comment:
Researching the history of certain bridges—especially railroad crossings—can be difficult due to limited records and inaccessible sources. The Verdigris River crossing of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) near Catoosa, Oklahoma, has an uncertain early history. The current bridge opened in December 1970 as part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, but it's had at least two earlier iterations.
Of course, my research isn't complete by any means. I've contacted BNSF to see if there is information to be obtained, and I'm always interested in corrections/updates from others as well.
Daren Genau: I suggest you figure out who the original Railroad was and contact that historical Society. BNSF doesn’t know shit about their history.
Might be Frisco or Santa Fe
Bridges & Tunnels: Daren Genau Thanks! The local historic society was actually asking others about the bridge’s history so I’ll start with some railroading oriented groups.
1

2

Dennis DeBruler commented on B&T's comment
It was the Frisco. (1963 Cattosa @ 24,000) Bridge Hunter agrees: https://web.archive.org/web/20221003091635/https://bridgehunter.com/ok/rogers/bh38055/

B&T

NJ Transit/D&LE Tunnel in Jersey City, NJ

Tunnel: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; HAER)
West Portal: (Satellite)
East Portal: (Satellite)

"Significance: The South Bergen Tunnel is technologically significant for its innovative concrete technology and is historically significant because it reflected the dramatic increase in railroad freight operations on the D.L.&W. Railroad by the opening of the twentieth century." [HAER_data]

HAER NJ-137-8
West-facing portals within Open Cut No. 2 (South Bergen Tunnel on right, North Bergen Tunnel [ see HAER No. NJ-136]) on left), from within the opposite portal of the South Bergen Tunnel, looking east - Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, South Bergen Tunnel, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ

HAER NJ-137-7

The west portal is behind those two truss bridges. The bridges carry the DL&W over the Erie.
Street View, Oct 2012

HAER NJ-137-2
General view from railroad bridge over Conrail tracks showing the west portal of the South Bergen Tunnel in context, with the Conrail tunnel below and to the right, looking east - Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, South Bergen Tunnel, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ

Eugene Powell posted
An Erie Lackawanna Railroad locomotive,  Engine #'854 with an eastbound Train # 1407, emerges from the East Portal of the South Bergen Tunnel.
Location: Jersey City, N.J 
Photo Taken: June 7, 1965
Photo' Victor Hand 
Erie Lackawanna Railway passenger service trains in North Jersey came to an halt along with the discontinuation of the Lake Cities trains on January 4, 1970. Thanks to Photographers like Victor Hand to catch shots in North Jersey, Pre 1970. ( Another Time Capsule view)

1955/58 Jersey City @ 24,000