1885+1909 Capital Crescent Trail/Arizona Avenue/B&O Bridge over C&O Canal and Canal Road in Washington, DC

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

C&O Canal Overview

I don't think Arizona Avenue 

The span on the right goes over the C&O Canal.

Street View, Mar 2025

Bob Dover posted

The Arizona Avenue Trestle in Washington, DC, crosses the C&O Canal and Canal Road a few miles north of Georgetown. Completion of the Georgetown Branch Railroad required a new bridge to carry the rail line across the C&O Canal, as well as Canal Road adjacent to the canal. This was accomplished by disassembling two existing railroad bridges in other locations, transporting them to the C&O Canal, and re-assembling them in their current location at the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Canal Road, a few miles northwest of Georgetown. The bridge consists of two very different spans, both salvaged from earlier railroad lines in Pennsylvania in 1909. One span is shorter and skewed, while the other is much taller, suggesting that the two spans came from different rail lines.

In the late 1980s, the rail traffic was stopped. By 1990, the entire seven-mile rail line had been converted to recreational use as the Capital Crescent Trail. Today, the bridge carries bikes and joggers across the canal and Canal Road.

This shows how different the two spans are.

Alex PennCove Tucker, Dec 2022

It appears industry survived east of here longer than I would have guessed. (Rail service made it all the way to the late 1980s.) 

1977 photo by William Duvall from the collection of Benjamin Sullivan via BridgeHunter

One of the most significant bridges in the District, this rare railroad Whipple truss and skewed Pratt truss has been preserved for pedestrian use. It is however overgrown and extremely difficult to photograph in whole from the side. The bridge also has a small deck plate girder approach span in addition to the two trusses. For unknown reasons, a plate girders run alongside the deck inside the Pratt truss.

The bridge was reportedly originally built for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Ridley Creek, Ridley Park, Pennsylvania southwest of Philadelphia and was moved by B&O to this location in 1909, and converted to trail use in 1992. The Whipple truss configuration and Carngie brands with the simple font both suggest the bridge dates to the 1880s, as such the reported 1885 construction date given on Bridgehunter.com would appear to be accurate.

[HistoricBridges]

rail.guide

The Capital Crescent Trail crosses the C&O Canal Towpath just south of the bridge. It is interesting that the C&O Towpath is also labeled "U.S. Bicycle Rte 50." The trail joins the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP Trail) in Cumberland, MD, and ot goes all the way to Pittsburgh.

Satellite

1888-1943 Lost Upper Free Bridge over Illinois River at Peoria,IL

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

"Artistic license" makes this image look like it was AI generated. A swing span would never be partially closed while a boat is still going through the opening. And there is no pier for the swing span.

Unknown Artist via BridgeHunterkkk
"1888 – The wood-floored Upper Free Bridge at the narrows. On February 27, 1943, the bridge was struck by the towboat, “Sylvia T.” It was repaired; but right before its reopening on May 17, 1944, the “Sylvia T.” struck the bridge again and put it out of business for good. The United States War Department ordered the removal of debris from the channel, but the city disclaimed ownership and the War Department ultimately removed the debris and the center pier in 1947. The pier on the west side remains in place today. From the 1985 book Peoria! by Jerry Klein"

Tony Brocksmith posted two images with the comment:

The pictured bridge is just north of the McClugage (150) Bridge. One of the footings for this bridge, or a version of that bridge, is still visible on the Peoria side of the river, just east of the Water Works building.

Source: David B. Gould, Gould’s Illustrated Business Directory of the City of Peoria (Peoria, Illinois, 1887), “Free Bridge, Foot of Peoria Lake.” Digital image, FamilySearch Digital Library. Owning Institution: Peoria Public Library

Michele Sumner: In 1887 the first Santa Claus Parade was started as the kick off for the grand opening of that bridge and is the longest running Santa Claus Parade in the United States.

Bruce Phelps: That was the upper free bridge. I fished off the pilon while in high school. I am 88. My dad used to ice skate while going to kingman high school in 1930 when the river froze solid under that old bridge.

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Michael Scholl commented on Tony's post
I have several pictures of the Upper Bridge. The East Peoria road to the bridge goes past Bauer's old salvage yard..........

Michael Scholl commented on Tony's post

Roy Meyer commented on Tony's post

My great-grandfather (which is why I have the clipping).

He operated the Upper Free Bridge in his later years; his son, who at the time was State Senator Thomas Madden, got him the job (according to family lore).

$1b Comite River Diversion Canal north of Baton Rouge, LA

Eastern Entrance: (Satellite, it had yet to show up on a satellite image when I accessed it in Sep 2026.)

USACE, New Orleans District posted four photos with the comment:

At the eastern entrance of the Comite River Diversion Channel, a control structure is taking shape. Work on its foundation is well underway, with approximately 1,588 of 2,272 H-piles driven into the ground. More than 3,000 cubic yards of concrete have also been placed on top of the piles to support the foundation.

This control structure is a critical component of the channel and is designed to divert flood flows from the Comite River into the new diversion channel. From there, the channel will carry water approximately 12 miles toward the Mississippi River.

With each pile driven and each cubic yard of concrete placed, this project continues to take shape bringing a major component of the Comite River Diversion closer to completion and advancing flood risk reduction for the Capital Region.

[According to some comments, it started in 1982, and it was a real shame it wasn't ready for the 2016 flood.]

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LADOT
"The project will consist of a 12 mile long diversion channel from the Comite River to the Mississippi River, a diversion structure at the Comite River, guide levees, Lilly Bayou control structure, four drop structures at the intersections of the diversion channel with McHugh Road, Bayou Baton Rouge, Cypress Bayou, and White Bayou, and Highway and Railroad Bridges. Low-flow augmentation pumps at the intercepted streams and an earthen closure at Brooks Lake, clearing and snagging of Bayou Baton Rouge, White Bayou and Cypress Bayou north of the diversion channel will reduce flooding in those areas."

USACE

Some of the channel segments have had work done.

Satellite

Jan 2026:

UnfilteredWithKiran
All of the contracts have finally been awarded and the completion target is (the end of ) 2Q 2028.
"Originally, the project was the product of two catastrophic floods that happened in the basin in 1977 and 1983, which spurred Congress to explore funding flood mitigation measures in the area. The project has been ongoing since August of 1991 and is estimated to cost $1 billion by completion."

1937 IN-46 over Whitewater River near New Trenton, IN

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

Street View, May 2025

Satolli Glassmeyer posted
The historic State Route 46 Bridge in Dearborn County, Indiana has been closed for over a year now for restoration. If you miss driving over the bridge, click on the link in the comments below to bring back memories.
https://youtu.be/oNBiTbppvJk

Phil Kraus: Back in the late 60s early 70s we used to drag race across this bridge. Pretty exciting then since the whole stretch had just been re-paved!

[According to some comments, it has been closed for rehabilitation for over two years. They talk about it being a major inconvenience, yet I-74 parallels it. The video says the average usage is 2,600 vehicles a day.]

Jason Tompkins provided these five photos as comments on Satolli's post. It appears that they didn't fix things, they just painted over the problems.

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1922-54 Abandoned US-51 Bridge over Ramsey Creek near Ramsey, IL

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

Street View, Apr 2018

Event Horizon Photography posted 12 photos with the comment:

Hidden alongside modern U.S. Route 51 north of Vandalia stands a piece of highway history that has been left largely untouched for more than 70 years. The Old U.S. 51 Ramsey Creek Bridge was built in 1924, two years before the U.S. Highway System was officially established. The bridge is a riveted, five-panel Pratt through-truss, with a 100-foot steel main span and concrete approach spans bringing its total length to roughly 300 feet. One of its more unusual features is still visible today: the brick railings incorporated into the concrete approaches. 

When U.S. 51 was designated in 1926, this stretch became part of the highway carrying travelers north and south through central Illinois. For the next three decades, cars and trucks crossed Ramsey Creek through this narrow steel truss. In 1954, U.S. 51 was realigned and a new bridge was constructed immediately to the east. Rather than removing the old bridge, the original roadway and bridge were simply bypassed and abandoned. 

Today, the old pavement is cracked and disappearing beneath grass and brush, the steel has turned deep red with rust, and trees have begun reclaiming a road that once carried one of Illinois’ major highways. Yet the bridge itself remains standing 102 years after it was built. What makes this place especially interesting is that it isn’t a replica or a restored attraction. It’s an actual surviving section of the old highway, essentially frozen in place after traffic moved a few yards away in 1954. For more than seven decades, thousands of motorists have driven past it on U.S. 51 without realizing the road their predecessors traveled is still sitting right beside them.

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HistoricBridges also notes the brick railings.

2017 photo by Steve Conro via BridgeHunter

1975,2024 Sister Cities Y-Bridge over Genesee River in Rochester, NY

(no Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

Looking North. From ground level, it is hard to see the third leg.

Street View, Jun 2025

Looking South.

Street View, May 2025

The bridge was dedicated in 1975 as the culmination of an urban renewal project. These two clippings from BridgesOfTheGeneseeRiver show the buildings along the river that were cleared out for the urban renewal project. The resulting Charles Carroll Plaza on the west side of the river wasn't much more than a concrete slab. As with some plazas in Chicago, this plaza demonstrated that people don't like plazas that basically look like a parking lot. Thus it, and the bridge, were renovated in 2024.

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The triangle in the water was a fountain. It never did work correctly and they soon gave up on it.

Satellite

BridgesOfTheGeneseeRiver
This article also explains why the name of the plaza was changed.

Looking at the satellite image above, the new plaza has some layers. This image shows that the old plaza wasn't much more than a slab.

The plaza renovation cost $20m. The plaza is a roof for an underground parking lot. "Austin Steward was one of Rochester’s first prominent Black business owners, an entrepreneur who not only gained freedom from slavery, but opened a successful business, operated the first school for black children in Rochester, and wrote his memoir, “22 Years a Slave and 40 Years a Freeman.”" (Charles Carroll was a slave owner.) [CityOfRochester]

Google Earth, Jul 2018

So how accurate is this rendering?

CityOfRochester_project

1966 Michael J. Kirwan Dam on Mahoning River

(Satellite)

Michael J. Kirwan Dam & Reservoir posted

"Since its completion in 1966, the Kirwan Reservoir has prevented flood damages estimated to be in excess of $755 million. Kirwan has the capability to store the equivalent run-off of 18.35 inches of precipitation from its 80.5 square mile drainage area. When compared, the $20 million cost of construction is far outweighed by the project’s flood prevention benefits." The dam also helps provide a minimal flow in the Mahoning River. [usace]

USACE, Pittsburgh District posted

Fun bit of history: Michael J. Kirwan Dam & Reservoir wasn’t always Michael J. Kirwan Dam & Reservoir.

This photo from June 8, 1965, shows workers beneath the original West Branch Dam & Reservoir sign, back when the under-construction project was still named for the West Branch Mahoning River it impounds.

Five years later, Congress passed Public Law 91-639 and officially renamed the project for Michael J. Kirwan, a longtime congressman from northeastern Ohio who championed reservoir construction throughout the region.

As our trusty history book, "The Headwaters District: A History of the Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers" explains:

"Mr. President, you will surely recall crossing the Mahoning River two or three times during your visit to Youngstown's busy steel plants last fall," Congressman Mike Kirwan wrote in his May 1941 letter to Franklin Roosevelt. "The Mahoning River is now at the point of drying up after its flood waters threatened interruption of production in January. That river is 80% sewage, and we are called the 'wonder people of America' because we drink it and it doesn't kill us. I was foreman in a steel plant here for twenty years and can recall sending men to shunt sewage away from the water intakes."

Michael J. Kirwan was appealing to the President, Congress and to anyone who would listen in 1941 for quick action on Mahoning basin water troubles. He declared that repeated flooding interfered with steel mill production, that strong men collapsed from the stench of the polluted stream, and that low water flows hampered national defense. He said steel mills used and reused the Mahoning so many times that both water taps in Youngstown homes delivered hot water, and that ducks never landed on the Mahoning for fear of being cooked alive. People and industry in the Mahoning basin had built Milton and Meander Creek dams without a cent contributed by the Federal Government, though the Mahoning Valley paid more in taxes than some states. Floods and droughts in the Mahoning basin disrupted production of 10% of the nation's steel, essential to any defense program.

"There is only one way to remedy this threatening situation," Kirwan told the President, "and that is by the immediate construction of Berlin and Mosquito Creek dams on the Mahoning and one of its principal tributaries."

The emergency spillway is on the left descending (north) abutment.

Satellite