The Little Sandy River Bridge that formerly carried U.S. Route 23 in Greenup, Kentucky was down to the main truss span as of January 1. New abutments for a two lane bridge are in place.

 

 

 

 

A widened approach is also being constructed.

 

 

I still have concerns over the trusses - which date to 1884, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The crossing was used only 883 times a day in 1999, which is minimal, and could have been retained as a pedestrian span, with Kentucky State Route 2 and U.S. Route 23 used as a detour - adding no more miles and saving taxpayers nearly $5 million.

 

I also took the opportunity to photograph the four span plate girder bridge that carries CSX (ex-C&O) adjacent to the former U.S. Route 23 and current U.S. Route 23 bridge. It was most likely constructed in the mid 1920s as part of a railroad elevation project.

 

 

 

Further Reading

a. US 23 Little Sandy River Bridge Update: http://bridgestunnels.com/2012/01/18/us-23-little-sandy-river-bridge-update/

b. Little Sandy River Bridge (Formerly US 23): http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/kentucky/little-sandy-river-bridge-formerly-us-23/

c. Little Sandy River Bridge (CSX): http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/kentucky/chesapeake-and-ohio-little-sandy-river-bridge/

 

  I don't know anything about the condition - maybe it wasn't safe anymore - but if a bridge like that crosses a navigateable waterway, it may be possible to lift the superstructure off of the piers and transport it to a place where it would be appreciated, such as the Licking River between Covington and Newport.

 

  I came across an old highway report from the 1930's and they were saying how progressive it was to replace wooden covered bridges with steel truss bridges. Evidently, no one was thinking of preserving wooden covered bridges at that time.

 

    Thanks for posting.

 

  I don't know anything about the condition - maybe it wasn't safe anymore - but if a bridge like that crosses a navigateable waterway, it may be possible to lift the superstructure off of the piers and transport it to a place where it would be appreciated, such as the Licking River between Covington and Newport.

 

  I came across an old highway report from the 1930's and they were saying how progressive it was to replace wooden covered bridges with steel truss bridges. Evidently, no one was thinking of preserving wooden covered bridges at that time.

 

    Thanks for posting.

 

INDOT maintains an online catalog of surplus bridges that are available for relocation for trail or other light-duty applications. The last I knew, the city of Bluffton was considering an 1887 Whipple through-truss 150-footer across the Wabash River at Vera Cruz, a tiny village just a few miles away. That bridge stands beside its replacement on Indiana 316, isolated on its piers with its earth-fill approaches long-since bulldozed away. One has to climb a moderate rubble heap to get to the deck.

@8th and State: To give you an idea of its location, it's the bridge closest to the river at http://g.co/maps/x7v77. It was declared unsafe a few years back but I'm not sure on the need to demolish it - other bridges in the state have been salvaged as pedestrian spans, and this would make a fantastic fishing pier since it's on the Little Sandy and only 400 feet from the Ohio.