Located between Rome and Mt. Pleasant, this large deck truss bridge crosses the Skunk River in a remote location.
Built in 1899, the bridge consists of three massive deck trusses. The eastern two trusses consist of 7-panel pin connected Pratt Deck Truss structures. These two spans were strengthened in 1931. The center span was strengthened using trusses from the original west span, and the east span was strengthened using the trusses from the nearby Big Creek Bridge in Mt. Pleasant. At the same time, the original western span was replaced with a new riveted span.
The westernmost truss is a 7-panel, riveted Warren Deck Truss with a standard two truss lines. The trusses are approached by a series of deck girder spans, set onto steel towers. Concrete piers and footings support the entire bridge.
These trusses are not common for this route. The Pratt spans are of particular interest, because of the four truss lines. Recent rehabilitation work has included the upgrading of the various connections on the bridge with bolts, and a replacement of some stringers. The chords on the bridge form a complex web of heavily reinforced truss.
On the approaches, a King Bridge Company plaque was found. King Bridge Company did a lot of work with railroad bridges, although this appears to have been one of their biggest railroad projects in the area. The work for double tracking this line appears to have been split between Lassig Bridge & Iron Works (and successor American Bridge) and King.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in goof to fair condition. Recent rehabilitation have restored this bridge to good operational condition.
The author has ranked the bridge as being regionally significant, due to the large scale design and heavily reinforced trusses.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed on the west side from a public access area.
A special thank you goes out to the Burlington Route Historical Society Archives for helping uncover the history of this bridge!
| Upstream | Coppock Rail Bridge |
| Downstream | Wever Rail Bridge |