This 1737' (530m) long bridge has a main span of 689' (210m). [BridgeHunter]
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| Street View, Jul 2024 |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Reno, Nevada's Galena Creek Bridge nears completion, June 18, 2012. (T71024) |
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
2012 I-580+US-395 Bridge over Galena Creek near Reno, NV
(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Brides; Satellite)
Monday, August 25, 2025
Aug 22, 2025: An Arch Bridge over Yellow River Collapsed During Construction in China
(Satellite?)
And poor construction practices. No falsework cables should have been slack.
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| CNN International posted The collapse of an under-construction railway bridge over a major river in China has killed at least 12 workers and left four others missing, state media reports say: https://cnn.it/4muQHGl "Sixteen workers were on the bridge in northwest China’s Qinghai province when a steel cable snapped about 3 a.m. Friday during a tensioning operation....The bridge is 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) long and its deck is 55 meters (180 feet) above the surface of the river below, the English-language China Daily newspaper said." Dan Gurley shared |
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| Li Zhanyi/Xinhua via apnews |
Casey Jones found a lot more imagery than I was able to find.
He found a video of the collapse.
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| 4:35 video @ 0:50 |
And poor construction practices. No falsework cables should have been slack.
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| @ 1:53 |
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| @ 1:55 |
I wonder if the cable they were tightening is the one that snapped.
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| Facebook Reel |
Sunday, August 24, 2025
US-77 1896,1937+1981,83 Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge over Missouri River at Sioux City, IA
1981: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; John Weeks III; Satellite)
This is that presentation:
"The Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge, from Sioux City, Nebraska, to Sioux City, Iowa, was opened to traffic in January 1981. In May 1982 Iowa Department of Transportation personnel discovered a fracture across the full width of the top flange on the down stream tie girder. The investigation into the cause of the fracture included chemical and physical testing and fractographic and metallographic examinations. Results of the latter examinations showed that the fracture originated at a gas-flame-cut edge of the 2 3/4-in.-thick A588 flange plate. It arrested at least once at a depth of 0.37 in. and possibly earlier at a depth of about 0.05 in. before propagating in a brittle mode across the flange. The fracture surface was heavily corroded, indicating that the fracture had occurred long before its discovery. The physical tests indicated that the plate in which the fracture occurred did not meet the specified toughness requirements. Additional tests on samples of material extracted from other parts of the girders revealed highly variable toughness properties, some of which did not meet the requirements of the specifications either." [pubsindex]
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| Street View, Sep 2023 |
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| John Weeks This 1,502' (458m) long bridge has a main span of 425' (130m). The navigation channel is 400' (122m) by 80' (24.4m). "An inspection in early May, 1982, found a fracture across the full width of the downstream horizontal tie girder. The fracture was heavily corroded, suggesting that the fracture happened just after the bridge was opened. Further investigation revealed that the strength of the steel varied considerably, with some of the steel not meeting minimum strength specifications. The bridge was closed on May 6, 1982. It remained totally closed for 7 months, with 2 lanes reopening on December 9, 1982. The repairs were completed and the bridge was fully reopened on May 9, 1983." [When I had seen the rehabilitation date of 1983, I wonder what went wrong in less than two years. Now I wonder which country provided the steel.] "Highway US-77 once ran north and south from border to border. The northern section of the road became redundant when Interstate I-29 was completed. As a result, US-77 was truncated at the interchange located at the north end of the Siouxland bridge." |
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| Street View, Jun 2024 |
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| Sujit Ingle, Apr 2023 |
The 1896 bridge was built with two swing spans because steamboats are what made this town. It was called the Combination Bridge because it originally carried both railroad and vehicular traffic.
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| HAER IOWA,97-SIOCI,1--2, cropped 2. General View of the Bridge from Prospect Hill, looking SE. - Pacific Shortline Bridge, U.S. Route 20,spanning Missouri River, Sioux City, Woodbury County, IA |
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| HAER IOWA,97-SIOCI,1--1, cropped 1. General View of the Bridge from the South Shore, looking WNW. |
A good view of the surviving swing span.
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| HAER IOWA,97-SIOCI,1--8 8. 3/4 View of Bridge from South Shore, looking NNE. |
"The Pacific Short Line Combination Bridge was the work of three prominent names in the late 19th century American engineering: J.A.L. Waddell (chief engineer), Charles Sooysmith's Sooysmith & Company.(foundations and piers), and the Phoenix Iron and Bridge companies (fabricators and erectors). The dates of the Pacific Short Line Bridge (1890-1896) make it among the early largescale works of both Waddell and Sooysmith. It is also one of Waddell.'s and Phoenix's earliest efforts in steel bridge design and construction, at a time when the use of steel was still not universally accepted, particularly for spans of the size of the Pacific Short Line bridge. As constructed, the bridge consisted of two 470' [143m] rimbearing through Pratt swing spans and two 500' [152m] Pennsylvania through trusses. All spans were pin-connected. The bridge was built at least partially as Sioux City's response to changing developments in Upper Missouri transportation systems, as westward running railroads supplanted steamboats, which were instrumental in the city's early growth, as the principal carriers of people, goods and raw materials during the 1880's." [HAER_data]
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| 2009 photo by Jack Schmidt via BridgeHunter |
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| safe_image for The Bridges of Sioux City, Iowa, Photo by Jack Schmidt The second bridgehunting tour takes us to Sioux City, Iowa. In 2022, a museum curator did a presentation on the city's bridges, dating back to the first crossing in 1865. That presentation is now available for viewing. Enjoy the tour: |
This is that presentation:
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| 51:11 video |
"The Siouxland Veterans Memorial Bridge, from Sioux City, Nebraska, to Sioux City, Iowa, was opened to traffic in January 1981. In May 1982 Iowa Department of Transportation personnel discovered a fracture across the full width of the top flange on the down stream tie girder. The investigation into the cause of the fracture included chemical and physical testing and fractographic and metallographic examinations. Results of the latter examinations showed that the fracture originated at a gas-flame-cut edge of the 2 3/4-in.-thick A588 flange plate. It arrested at least once at a depth of 0.37 in. and possibly earlier at a depth of about 0.05 in. before propagating in a brittle mode across the flange. The fracture surface was heavily corroded, indicating that the fracture had occurred long before its discovery. The physical tests indicated that the plate in which the fracture occurred did not meet the specified toughness requirements. Additional tests on samples of material extracted from other parts of the girders revealed highly variable toughness properties, some of which did not meet the requirements of the specifications either." [pubsindex]
"Steel for the bridge was provided by two suppliers, one who
furnished most of the flange plates, and the other who furnished the remainder of the flange plates and all of the web
plates....A number of locations were found where the toughness did not meet the specified requirement. Locations where 21
/2-in.-thick plates did not
meet the requirement were also found. At this point in the
investigation, an offer was made to IDOT by the supplier of
the fractured plate to replace all flange plates that had been
furnished by the supplier. This offer was accepted. Work to
replace these flange plates was completed in spring 1983." To replace the flanges, they had to remove the dead load off of the tie girders. To do this, they built falsework and then jacked up the superstructure. The bridge was opened to limited traffic while the flanges were being replaced. [onlinepubs]
Saturday, August 23, 2025
1932 and 1952 US-160 Bridges over Swan Creek (part of Bull Shoals Lake) at Forsyth, MO
Lost: (no Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)
The 1932 bridge is in the foreground, and the 1952 bridge is in the background.
Note that there is no truss bridge in this photo. This photo was taken before the Bull Shoals Dam was built and shows the original river level.
This was before the reservoir filled up.
And after it filled up.
Evidently a lot of rain will put the arch bridge under water. Note that the comment says the Bulls Shoals Lake level was higher than what we see here. Fortunately, a concrete arch bridge should pressure wash nicely.
1932: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
1952: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
The 1952 bridge was built when the Bull Shoals Dam was built.
The lost bridge:
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| Postcard via BridgeHunter_Lost |
The 1932 bridge is in the foreground, and the 1952 bridge is in the background.
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| 2012 photo by Larry Dooley via BridgeHunter_1932 |
Note that there is no truss bridge in this photo. This photo was taken before the Bull Shoals Dam was built and shows the original river level.
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| Photo by MoDOT via BridgeHunter_1932 |
This was before the reservoir filled up.
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| Oct 8, 1952, photo via BridgeHunter_1952 via Missouri State Archives |
And after it filled up.
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| Mar 29, 1953, photo via BridgeHunter_1952 via Missouri State Archives |
This is one of many construction photos on the BridgeHunter_1952 webpage.
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| Mar 1952 photo via BridgeHunter_1952 via Missouri State Archives |
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| 417 Drone Shots posted Forsyth, Missouri 🌉 | Taney County The first shot with the new DJI Air 3’s 70mm telephoto lens, and what better subject than the two bridges here in Forsyth. The longer focal length really pulls the scene in tight, showing off the red truss bridge against the bluffs in a way the wide lens just can’t. 🚁📸 Loving the extra perspective this second camera gives—plenty more to come as I keep exploring the Ozarks (and beyond). Don't forget to follow me to see more. Thank you. 417 Drone Shots shared |
Evidently a lot of rain will put the arch bridge under water. Note that the comment says the Bulls Shoals Lake level was higher than what we see here. Fortunately, a concrete arch bridge should pressure wash nicely.
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| Facebook Reel |
Begley Street Bridge over Black River in Greenwood, WI
(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
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| Street View, Aug 2023 |
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| Nancy Lee Forster posted This pretty old bridge in Greenwood, WI is supposed to be torn down soon. Not sure what they're putting in its place. Here is a pic I took of it July 28th, 2023 after a thunderstorm with the mammatus clouds above it. I took it with my Canon EOS 4000D. photo by 📷Marjy Struble Sanders |
When I accessed Google Maps on Aug 20, 2025, the bridge was closed.
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| Satellite |
Thursday, August 21, 2025
1908+2022 Cobban Bridge over Chippewa River near Cornell, WI
1908: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER)
2022: (Satellite)
These were the last two Pennsylvania trusses in Wisconsin that the DOT destroyed. [HistoricBridges]
"Between 1916 and 1918,
the Wisconsin-Minnesota Power & Light Company built a
hydroelectric dam four miles downstream from the
bridge, putting the site under water. The townships
of Eagle Point and Arthur arranged to have the 486-foot
span dismantled and re-erected 15 miles upstream near
the village of Cobban." [HAER_data]
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| HAER WIS,9-ART,1--1, cropped 1. LONG VIEW OF BRIDGE, LOOKING SOUTH - Yellow River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa River on County Trunk Highway TT, Cobban, Chippewa County, WI |
These were the last two Pennsylvania trusses in Wisconsin that the DOT destroyed. [HistoricBridges]
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| HAER WIS,9-ART,1--2 2. ELEVATION, LOOKING WEST |
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| Photo by Theresa Catherine via BridgeHunter |
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| 2009 photo by Steve Conro via BridgeHunter |
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| Nancy Lee Forster posted One of Wisconsin's oldest truss bridge near Cornell on Hwy 178 will be torn down in 2022. The historic Cobban Bridge is now permanently closed. Take a road trip and take photographs while you can. photo by 📷David Hoff |
Girder bridges need more piers. I'm guessing they are concrete girders because no DOT uses white paint on steel girders.
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| Street View, Oct 2024 |
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
1939,1988,2011 US-40 and 1962,1988 I-95 Bridges over Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, MD
US-40: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite) Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge
I-95: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite) Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge
US-40 Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge
BridgeHunter calls this an arch bridge, but I agree with HistoricBridges that it is a continuous-truss bridge.
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| Donald Cooper, Apr 2024 |
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| Street View, May 2024 |
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| 2005 photo by Jann Mayer via BridgeHutner_US-40 |
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| Postcard via BridgeHutner_US-40 via Boston Public Library |
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| Postcard via BridgeHutner_US-40 via Boston Public Library |
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| HistoricBridges_US-40 |
I-95 Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge
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| HistoricBridges_I-95 |
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| Wikimedia Commons user Famartin via BridgeHunter_I-95 |
.jpg) |
| Remember When: Maryland and VA WVA posted In 1962, two of the ten twin towered bridge piers for the $74,000,000 Northeast Expressway are shown as the rise in the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace! Fred Willard: Renamed JFK highway in 1963. Becoming I95 after that |
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