Tennessee DOT is replacing all of its truss bridges

While searching for the truss bridge in the background of the construction photos for the Sligo Bridge, I found some other truss bridges on Global Earth.

I assume the good ratings in the Bridge Hunter posts are for the replacement bridges, not the truss bridges that got replaced. Where/how did Tennessee get funding for all of these new bridges? Illinois can't deal with Interstate bridges that have a rating of 6 in 2018.

I also found that Calvin Sneed has written a book, and he is working on a sequel. He also has a website: ilovebridgesandtunnels.com.

Five-span truss in McMinnville: (Bridge Hunter built 1930, rehabilitated 1971, replaced 2009; Satellite)

Global Earth 9/3/2008

The photo labeled "Rehabilitation underway" in the Bridge Hunter is really deck removal. They removed the old bridge and built the new one in the same place.

Global Earth, 8/22/2010
1/23/2012 has the same image. I assume that is Global Earth's fault and that construction didn't just stop for a couple of years.
10/30/2012 shows the new bridge.

Nathan Holth commented on Bridge Hunter:

The easy thing to remember is that TDOT's policy is to demolish and replace all truss bridges in the state. This was noted in a newspaper article a few years ago. It is extremely disappointing to know that TDOT plans to destroy an entire category of historic bridges, but I am just passing along what I heard.

Calvin Sneed from NewsChannel9
[I've noticed that Calvin Sneed has been the primary contributor of the Bridge Hunter photos for these bridges.]

Street View

The new bridge has new columnar piers. So reuse of the piers is not the reason they disrupted traffic by building the new bridge after tearing down the old bridge.

Street View

Two-span truss in McMinnville: (Bridge Hunter, built 1941, demolished 2012; Satellite)

WayMarking, 10/17/2007

Global Earth, 10/7/2010
1/23/2012 has the new bridge and a crane is still present to remove the old bridge.

Five-span truss near Spurgeon (Bridge Hunter, 1938, replaced with "concrete tee-beam bridge" in 2010, demolished 2011; Satellite)

Calvin Sneed photo from Bridge Hunter

Once again, Google Earth shows a delay of the image update.

Google Earth, 1/23/2012

Two-span Rock Island Road (TN-136) over Caney Fork (no Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

Global Earth, 3/20/1997
3/30/2005 has the new bridge

One-span TN-286 over Big Hickory Creek (Bridge Hunter, built 1929, replaced 2012; Satellite)

C Hanchey photo, July 2011 from Bridge Hunter

Google Earth, 8/22/2010
10/30/2012 has the new bridge

Four big spans    news article    I hope the steel girders are brown because they are Corten. Otherwise, TDOT replaced one rust problem with another.


A one-span bridge that was torn down in 2011 and not replaced because of TDOT's stated policy to get rid of all truss bridges in the state.

The 3-span Beulah Bridge had already been replaced in the oldest Global Earth image of 3/15/1997.