Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Rough Hollow Bridge

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Photos

HAER photo

This photo from the Historic American Engineering Record shows the bridge as it appeared in July 1978 [HAER photos taken by Robert L. Hayden]

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Photo taken by Greg Hall

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Photo taken by Greg Hall

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Photo taken by Greg Hall

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Photo taken by Greg Hall

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Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Facts

Overview: Through truss bridge over Pomme de Terre River on CR 281 north of Hermitage, between Route Y and Route U
Location: Hickory County, Missouri
Status: Open to traffic
History: Built ca. 1890 at Hermitage; relocated ca. 1931
Design: Pin-connected, 10-panel Pratt through truss
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 180.1 ft.
Total length: 256.8 ft.
Deck width: 13.7 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 16.0 ft.
Recognition: Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Also called: Williams Bend Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude: +37.98103, -93.31137 (decimal degrees)
37°58'52" N, 93°18'41" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 15/472655/4203755 (zone/easting/northing)
Land survey: T. 37 N., R. 22 W., Sec. 2
USGS topographic map: Hermitage
Inventory numbers: MONBI 13004 (Missouri bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 21605 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 04/2007): Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 22.7 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2007): 35

Update Log

August 25, 2008: New photos from James Baughn
August 8, 2008: Changed name

Sources

HAER MO-20 - William's Bend Bridge
Greg Hall - cyclebay [at] aol [dot] com
James Baughn - webmaster [at] bridgehunter [dot] com

Comments

Williams Bend Bridge

Posted February 20, 2007, by Greg Hall/Darren Gilmore (cyclebay [at] aol [dot] com)

Photo 7: East side looking north

Photo 8: Under looking north

Photo 9: South approach ramp and south support

Photo 10: Approach ramp, odd slight downward angle

Photo 11: Icy bluff, south/east side. No railing, only cable

Photo 12: Looking south

Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.

Williams Bend Bridge

Posted February 20, 2007, by Greg Hall/Darren Gilmore (cyclebay [at] aol [dot] com)

Actual GPS 37 58,794 93 18.686

Regarding the questionm mark with bridge open? Maybe this is the deal. Road to the bridge is poorly designed. Road runs east/west, but actually runs north/south where the bridge is. Approach from the east/south is on top of a bluff, shaded by trees. The first photo shows the sign regarding the weather issues (facing west). From that photo one can see to the 90 degree right hand corner. Look carefully where the road fades away and snow is evident. that was a sheet of solid ice, due to low sunlight exposure. It might have snowed here a week or so ago and still hadn't melted. Road turns 90 degrees right and immediately drops sharply down and onto the bridge. It would be impossible to guide a car and aim it on solid ice to be properly aligned with the bridge.

Thinking back to the original days when the bridge was likely built, I cannot imagine a team of horses with a loaded wagon climbing the south hill, or going down it! This poor road design may preserve the bridge more than naything else, simply as this makes the entire road of limited use, with or without a new bridge.

I am guessing that this bridge is open at other times, pending only the weather. Deck is aged, but solid. The approach ramp (south bank) takes large loads when vehicles drop off the hill and bottom out on it. The approach ramp aims slightly downward and I am not entirely sure if that is a result of damage repair, or original design.

Photo 1: Looking west. Snow/ice in road, road turns sharply right as it drops out of sight and sharply goes down.

Photo 2: Looking south at the uphill on the bridge (this would be downhill after the corner.

Photo 3: Looking South

Photo 4: Side shot, looking south, west side of the bridge.

Photo 5: Looking south through bridge

Photo 6: Looking north. Note the downward angle of the approach ramp

Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.

Williams Bend Bridge

Posted October 23, 2006, by Dale Akins (jrgdsa4 [at] netscape [dot] com)

Local people call this bridge Rough Hollow bridge