Instead of catching up on housework and painting on a rainy day in Cincinnati, Ohio, I opted to head north to visit some of western Ohio’s historic bridges. My first stop was the Fudge Road Bridge in Preble County, which carries TR 347 over Aukerman Creek. Constructed in 1913 by the Central States Bridge Company of Indianapolis, it is regarded to be one of the longer half-hip pony trusses constructed.

 

The structurally deficient bridge was recently closed to traffic, and it will not likely be replaced with a new crossing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearby was the Brubaker Covered Bridge, which is located over Sam’s Run on Aukerman Creek Road, which later became Brubker Road in Preble County. Constructed in 1887 by Everett S. Sherman for $986, the covered Childs through truss was rehabilitated from 2005 to 2006. The project was initially approved for the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program, for which 80% of the cost would be covered by federal funds. But due to the War in Iraq, the federal funds were withdrawn by the federal government despite its approval. But due to the efforts of Linda Bailiff of the Office of Local Assistance, the Ohio Department of Transportation agreed to provide $237,600 in state funding and $92,400 in PCEO funding for the renovation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Seven Mile Bridge (TR 331) is located on Seven Mile Road and crosses Seven Mile Creek. Constructed in 1906 by the Indiana Bridge Company of Muncie, Indiana, the Seven Mile Bridge is a single-span, 155-foot long, pin-connected “High Triangular” truss – a loose copy of a 1906 Pegram truss, and is the only one of its type in Ohio. The Pegram truss was patented by George H. Pegram in 1885, and featured equal-length sloping upper chords, a lack of verticals and steeply sloped diagonals, saving steel and allowing for easy disassembly. It was difficult to make riveted connections and was mostly used in the late 20th century.

 

The Seven Mile Bridge was rehabilitated in 1985 with a new wood bridge deck and the addition of welded stiffeners to the floorbeam hangers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Harshman Covered Bridge is located on Concord-Fairhaven Road and crosses Four Mile Creek and was constructed in 1894 by Everett S. Sherman at a cost of $3,184, with masonry work completed by J.M. Acton. The stone abutments were sourced from the Stony Point quarry just to the north, and a sawmill along the creek near the bridge provided cut lumber.

 

From December 2007 to May 2008, the covered bridge was rehabilitated with new siding, flooring system and standing seam metal roof. In addition, deficient upper and lower chords were replaced or added, and the weight limit was raised on the bridge from 6 tons to 15 tons. Financing for the project derived with 95% federal funding.

 

 

I was lucky to make it eastward to the Consolidated Road Underpass for the Norfolk Southern Railroad south of Eaton in time to catch a passing train!

 

The stone underpass, which was constructed in 1880 for the Eaton and Hamilton Railroad (E&H), later the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad (CH&D) and eventually Conrail and Norfolk Southern. The E&H was chartered on February 8, 1847 to construct a line from the Richmond and Miami Railroad at Eaton southeast towards the CH&D north of Hamilton. The E&H used trackage rights into the city and south to New Miami. The E&H was opened to Eaton on July 1, 1852.

 

 

Just to the north in Eaton is the St. Clair Street Bridge. Constructed in 1887 by Columbia Bridge Works of Dayton, the eight-panel pin-connected Pratt through truss measures just over 100 feet in length. The crossing was rehabilitated in 1999 and a new paver brick deck was installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Northwest of Eaton is the Monebrake Road Bridge, located on Monebrake Road that crosses Seven Mile Creek. The one-lane Warren pony truss was constructed in 1910 by the York Bridge Company of York, Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pratt through truss Sonora Road Bridge crosses Twin Creek and was constructed in 1902.

 

 

 

 

That concludes part 1 of the western Ohio historic bridge tour. Part 2 will cover some additional spans in an adjoining county!

 

Further Reading

Brubaker Covered Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/brubaker-covered-bridge/

Consolidated Road Underpass: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/consolidated-road-underpass-eaton-and-hamilton-railroad/

Fudge Road Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/fudge-road-bridge/

Harshman Covered Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/harshman-covered-bridge/

Monebrake Road Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/monebrake-road-bridge/

Seven Mile Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/seven-mile-road-bridge/

Sonora Road Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/sonora-road-bridge/

St. Clair Street Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio/st-clair-street-bridge/

Very neat. And great detail in your pictures. Thanks for taking the time and for sharing!

Cool.

Nit-pickingly atmospheric. Great stuff with lots of little details. These bridges remind me of overnight bike tours I did into Butler and Preble county in the 1970s. This is a nice set.

Uhhh...

 

^ I so didn't notice that on the first look through.

Oh wow. I did not see that either! I'll have to scrub that here tonight.

I guess the vandals do like Taz, though!

The stream or whatever that bridge crosses is the border between two Transportation Analysis Zones. The colloquial name for the TAZ on the other side, provided by the local rednecks, is rather offensive.