1871 GAP Trail/Western Maryland Bollman Bridge near Meyersdale, MD

1871: (Satellite? the plaque below says this bridge was built for the B&O to cross Wills Creek.)

1910: (Bridge Hunter; HAER; Satellite, the bridge is no longer here)

2007: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

GAP = Great Allegheny Passage

While looking for the Keystone Viaduct, I noticed the label Bollman Bridge on Google Maps. I recognized the name Bollman as being significant in bridge history. But I could not remember why. So I researched it.

Wendell Bollman was the chief engineer of the B&O, and this was one of the many bridges that he designed. [HAER-data]

 

Joseph Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
Wills Creek Bollman Bridge
The Wills Creek Bollman Bridge was recently moved to its present location east of Meyersdale, PA as part of the construction of the Great Allegheny Passage. It was designed by noted engineer Wendel Bollman.

"Built 1871 as railroad bridge; Erected here 1910; Relocated for trail use [in 2007]." [BridgeHunter-1910] The pin (red dot) near the upper-left corner was the location when it was a road bridge over the B&O. That is, it is the "here" in the Bridge Hunter-1910 and the HAER reports. The "Bollman Bridge" label in the center right is the current location as a trail bridge.

Satellite

 

Great Allegheny Passage posted

Visit one of the few remaining bridges built by pioneering builder Wendall Bollman along the Great Allegheny Passage. The 81-foot [24.7m] cast- and wrought-iron truss Bollman Bridge carries the GAP over Scratch Hill Road between Meyersdale and Frostburg.

Built in 1871 to carry the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad over Wills Creek east of Meyersdale, it was moved in 1910 to carry a farm road over the B&O tracks west of Meyersdale. Slated for demolition, the bridge was rescued and moved a second time in 2006 to serve as a bridge for the Great Allegheny Passage. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

To read more, visit: gaptrail.org/amenities/bollman-bridge/

HAER PA,56-MEYER.V,2--2
VIEW OF BRIDGE FROM SOUTH WITH ONCOMING CSX LOCOMOTIVE ON TRACKS BELOW, LOOKING NORTHEAST - Wills Creek Bollman Bridge, Spanning CSX tracks at T381, Meyersdale, Somerset County, PA

HAER PA,56-MEYER.V,2--6
DETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION AT SOUTHEASTERN UPPER PORTAL, LOOKING SOUTHEAST

 

Yates Coulter, Oct 2021

 

Is this the crossing that was mentioned in the plaque?

Satellite

Moving the bridge.

paul g Wiegman, Apr 2007