Photos
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Deck view Photo taken August 2006 by Tom Hall |
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At night This photo was taken by Jonathan Maxwell |
Facts
- Overview
- Two-span through truss bridge over Eel River on CR 440 West
- Location
- Miami County, Indiana
- Status
- Open to one-lane traffic
- History
- Built 1883 by the Massillon Bridge Co.
- Builder
- - Massillon Bridge Co. of Massillon, Ohio
- Design
- Pratt through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 120.0 ft.
Total length: 243.0 ft.
Deck width: 17.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 17.5 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.81454, -86.15681 (decimal degrees)
40°48'52" N, 86°09'25" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Inventory numbers
- INNBI 5200050 (Indiana bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 16643 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 06/2005)
- Deck condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 28.0 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2005)
- 100
Sources
- Tom Hall - thomas [dot] hall [at] ffni [dot] com
- Jonathan Maxwell - themaxwellshouse [at] roadrunner [dot] com
Comments
I used to live on 440 West at 350 North and the bridge was a half mile away(Straightline GPS). I could hear the boards rattling on the North span in my living room with the tv on and the doors and windows closed everytime a vehicle crossed! Indeed loud. Still scary when I would see one of the county's dump trucks cross. I believe if it wasn't for the "Iron Bridges Festival" in Miami County started a few years ago, this bridge would be closed. I remember several years before the festival was around when they had replaced the deck, the comment was made that this would be the last time. Not long after, the holes returned(thanks arsonist's) and the street signs were put in to patch it. It was at least partially redecked last year(2006) according to my cousin who still lives in the old house. Great place for Canoe trip launches, as many have used this spot for years for this and easily accessible fishing areas. I was suprized when the bridge survived horrible flooding in the late 1990's that had water within a foot of the decking supports. I have seen the limestone block piers survive bad ice gorges as well thanks to the iron mounted on the upstream side of the piers. Quite a bridge!
Here are a few more pictures of Denniston Bridge. The photo of the plaque isn’t very good, but reads Built By Massillon Bridge Co. 1884.
The last picture is the floor from underneath, As you can see from the deck photos there are old road signs nailed to the deck. These are patches for some rather large holes in the floor. Makes driving over it just a little more scary!
My God! Driving across this bridge, it has one of the LOUDEST Wooden Decks!