Stone Arch Road Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Statement of Significance

A prolific Ohio firm, the Massillon Bridge Company used a fairly conventional design for this quite old Pratt truss span. The truss webbing is fairly light. The span retains its original members, including its nicely-decorated portals and bracing.

Architectural Description

The Massillon Bridge Company of Massillon, Ohio, erected this single-span, pin-connected Pratt through structure upon cut-stone abutments and wingwalls. The trusses span 81' in six panels. The lower-chord members are composed of a pair of rectangular eyebars, lighter in the outer than in the inner panels. Laced channels of a single size provide the intermediate verticals, and a pair of small rectangular eyebars supply the hip-vertical suspenders. Each panel beyond the outer or endpost ones carries diagonals: they consist of a pair of nearly-square 1.25" eyebars. The two most central panels are each countered with a 1"-square and adjustable bar. U-bolted to the lower pins, girder floor beams carry a concrete deck with a 15'9" roadway. Decorated portals and bracing support the trusses.

Other Information

The Johnson county commissioners decided in August of 1885 to build a wooden or iron bridge on a stone substructure over Nineveh Creek to make it easier for the Elliotts and Pritchards to get to church, post office, and the other amenities of the villages of Nineveh and Williamsburg. At the September letting, the Board received two bids for the substructure and four for the superstructure. Nearly always finding the lowest bid as best, the commissioners contracted with James H. Pudney at $8.25 per yard for the masonry and with the Massillon Bridge Company at $1,205.40 for the iron superstructure. Pudney finished the stone work by the end of 1885, and Massillon Bridge erected the trusses early in 1886. The pin-connected Pratt through-truss span extends 81-ft. subdivided into six panels. The end-posts and top-chord members consist of a pair of laced channels and cover plate. A pair of rectangular, die-forged eyebars, lighter in the outer than in the inner panels, supply the lower- chord members. A pair of small rectangular eyebars hang as hip-verticals. Laced channels of a single size provide the intermediate ones. The diagonals consist of a pair of nearly-square 1.25-in. eyebars. The two most central panels are each countered with a 1 in. square and adjustable bar. To address sway, the portals carry struts made from a pair of angles and plate--with flower punch-outs for decoration--and reinforced with knee braces of angles and plate. The intermediate struts consist of a pair of small channels riveted to each other. In addition, round rods threaded at their ends for adjustment provide upper and lower lateral bracing. U-bolted to the lower pins, rectangular girder floor-beams support I-beam stringers. The beams and stringers together carry the 16-ft. concrete roadway. A small channel lines each truss as a rail.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes