Thursday, March 26, 2026

1914 Lift and Truss Bridges over Barge and Enlarged Erie Canals in Medina, NY

Prospect Lift: (Archived Bridge HunterBridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
Glenwood Truss: (Archived Bridge HunterBridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
Horan Truss: (Archived Bridge HunterBridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)


The Barge Canal used the same route as the Erie Canal through Medina.

Prospect Lift Bridge


Looking East:
2009 Photo by James Baughn via BridgeHunter_prospect

Looking West:
Richard Torbett, Sep 2022

Dane Kantner, May 2018

Glenwood Truss Bridge


Street View, Aug 2025

They must drain the canal in the Winter.
2020 Photo by Josh Schmid via BridgeHunter_glenwood, cropped

1914 is in the transition period between pin connected and riveted gussets. Most bridge designers choose one method or the other. These trusses used both.
Street View, Aug 2025

2009 Photo by James Baughn via BridgeHunter_glenwood, cropped

Horan Truss Bridge


Street View, Jun 2023

Josh was also intrigued by the hybrid pin-connected and rivet-gusseted design.
2020 Photo by Josh Schmid via BridgeHunter_horan

I learned of this bridge from photos of the Medina Falls and Erie Canal Aqueduct.
Max Wang, Aug 2021

Medina Falls and Barge & Erie Canal Aqueducts over Oak Orchard Creek at Medina, NY

Medina Falls: (Satellite)
Aqueduct: (Satellite)


The Barge Canal used the same route as the Erie Canal through Medina, so this is the aqueduct location for both canals.

Craig Lacy posted two photos with the comment: "The canal aqueduct crossing Oak Orchard Creek in Medina as it was in 1902.   Notice the side extension on the second picture for the towpath to cross over."
1

2

nycanalmap
"Medina Falls is a 40 plunge from a shelf of limestone that flows under the Erie Canal just east of Medina. An aqueduct here carries the Erie Canal and Erie Canalway Trail over Oak Orchard Creek, which flows under the canal. The best view is from the Erie Canalway Trail."

michael drahms, Jul 2021

2020 Photo by Josh Schmid via Bridge Hunter via Dennis DeBruler

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Burned UP/C&EI Bridge over Middle Fork Big Muddy River north of West Frankfort, IL

(no Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

WFCN News - Swinford Media Group posted
UPDATE: Union Pacific Railroad is working to repair a main railway line that was heavily damaged following an overnight fire in Franklin County.
The fire destroyed a segment of railway along the Big Muddy River bridge approximately 0.65 miles north of the West Frankfort city limits.
All rail traffic has been temporarily halted while crews work to repair the damaged section of railway. Firefighters spent much of early Monday morning continuing to battle the fire by using both water and foam to fully extinguish it.
There is currently no estimated timeline on how long the section of railway will be closed. The railway line connects into larger freight routes to the north and south, and runs through local communities such as Mount Vernon, Benton, and Marion.

1963/64 West Frankfort Quad @ 24,000

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Collapsed 1975 and Extant 1919 Bridges over Canadian River at Calvin, OK

1919: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
1975+1978: (Satellite) 1978 is my guess as to when the replacement bridge was finished.

I thought this was an bogus AI photo until I read the comments.
The collapse happened on May 21, 1976. [greenspun]
Note that the 1975 bridge stood for just a year or so before it fell down!
I thought this photo was bogus because there is no pier between the middle two collapsed spans. I guess the bridge collapsed because the pier disappeared. But how does a pier disappear?
Lunna Lucky posted
Bridge collapse Calvin OK

There were two fatalities.
newspapers, paycount of 5

I can't find any information about the cause of the collapse. 
"On May 28, 1976, the Commission authorized the Highway Department to contract with consulting firm Modjeski and Masters to perform an independent and unbiased investigation into the cause of the US-75 bridge collapse north of Calvin." [odot]
Has ODOT scrubbed all copies of that report off the internet?

1913 Bridge


I'll bet the locals were really glad that they didn't quickly tear down the old bridge after the new one was built. They at least had this old bridge to use while the new one was repaced.
Street View, May 2022

This view shows that the river was rather high in the above view. It also shows that the bridge has four spans.
Street View, Jan 2026

When I zoomed in to confirm that the bridge is pin connected, I noticed the bridge in the background. It is an abandoned railroad bridge.
Street View, Jan 2026

And the river is even lower in this photo.
OKbridges, this webpage has more photos
"This bridge was one of the earliest state-standardized designs built in Oklahoma, and other bridges exist similar in design. The state-standardized designs represented a trend towards heavier bridges than the ones commonly built from the catalogs of bridge companies."

Street View, Jun 2013

1907-72 Aban/B&O/Coal & Coke Kingsville (#1) Tunnel

(B&TSatellite)

West Portal:
B&T
B&O abandoned the tunnel in 1972.

East Portal:
wvrailmuseum 
"As stated in Mr. Clarke's book, Kingsville Tunnel is 834 feet [254m] long, of medium sandstone, shale and four-foot coal seam, with 1907 sandstone facades (surviving on the east end, the west end having the elegant 1924 facade added by the B&O); sandstone walls and partial brick arch."

Facebook Reel
Linda erroneously claims the tunnel was built in 1924 instead of 1907 because the number 1924 is in the west facade.

I could not find Kingsville. B&T says "The Coal & Coke Railway (C&C) is a former railroad between Charleston and Elkins, West Virginia." It was fully merged into B&O in 1934. B&O started abandoning parts of that route in 1941.
Rumsey, 1948

Monday, March 23, 2026

1913-1984 3,350' (1,021m) Allegheny River Trail/Pennsy Tunnel in Kennerdell, PA

(Satellite, the map pin is not positioned accurately. The trail marking is accurate.)

Harmony, Dec 2024

The tunnel has a curve, so the above photo was taken after they travelled past the curve.
Facebook Reel
The tunnel opened in 1913, and it was abandoned in 1984. It is 3,350' (1,021m) long.

1963/65 Kennerdell Quad @ 24,000

I started with an older map, but the tunnel wasn't built until 1913.
1911/44 Franklin Quad @ 62,500

I included the scale in this image because the above video says it eliminated 14 miles of travel. It looks like about a couple of miles to me.
Satellite

Hennepin Canal Bridge #4 east of Tiskilwa, IL

(Satellite)

Hennepin Canal Overview

Hennepin Canal State Park posted
Today's Throwback Thursday picture was taken in 1970 and features Bridge #4, east of Tiskilwa.

It has been replaced with an embankment and culverts.
Street View, Aug 2023