A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analyzed by 19th and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.
The Laughery Creek Bridge is a triple whipple truss bridge on the border of Dearborn County, Indiana, and Ohio County, Indiana. It crosses Laughery Creek. This bridge was built in 1878. The Wrought Iron Bridge Company, a prolific late 19th-century bridge company, constructed the bridge. The bridge is seated on stone abutments. The deck surface is not original and is currently concrete. The bridge, nearly 300 feet in length, is a single span pin connected triple intersection Whipple through truss, and is the only example in the world of this truss type. The name bridge's nickname, "Triple Whipple Bridge" is a play on words. The double-intersection Pratt, which was called the Whipple truss configuration, was a far more common variation of the standard Pratt configuration. Since the Laughery Creek Bridge's members have three intersections instead of two, this gives rise to the "Triple Whipple" name. This bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge at Savage, Maryland is the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot (48.8 m) double-span is a suspension truss bridge. The first Bollman bridge was installed on the site; however, the current bridge is not the original. The current bridge was built in 1852 and moved to the site thirty years later. It is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States. Currently, however, it is in use carrying the Savage Mill Trail across the Little Patuxent River.
Conley's Ford Covered Bridge was built in 1906 and crosses Big Raccoon Creek on County Road 550 East close to County Road 720 South, in Parke County, IN. The bridge is a single span Burr Arch Truss structure. The Conley's Ford Covered Bridge was built by J. Lawrence Van Fossen.
Rexleigh Bridge is a wooden covered bridge over the Batten Kill in Washington County, New York. It is one of 29 historic covered bridges in New York State.
The Bowsher Ford Covered Bridge is a single span Burr Arch truss covered bridge structure that was built by J.A. Britton's son, Eugene Britton, in 1915.
The Cox Ford Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that crosses Sugar Creek along the western edge of Turkey Run State Park, in Parke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.
The Jackson Covered Bridge also known as the Rockport Covered Bridge is located in the 'forgotten town' of Rockport, northwest of Bloomingdale, Parke County, Indiana, USA.
The Narrows Covered Bridge crosses Sugar Creek at the eastern edge of Turkey Run State Park and is a single span Burr Arch Truss covered bridge structure that was built by Joseph A. Britton in 1882.
The Atherton Bridge is a historic iron truss bridge in Lancaster, Massachusetts, spanning the South Branch of the Nashua River. It is a rare example of a hybrid pony truss that is similar to the 19th century truss design of Simeon S. Post. It was built by J. H. Cofrode & Co. of Philadelphia in 1870. It was the first iron bridge to be constructed in the town. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Shaw Bridge, also known as Double-Span Whipple Bowstring Truss Bridge, is a historic bridge in Claverack, New York, United States. It carried Van Wyck Lane over Claverack Creek, but is now closed to all traffic, even pedestrians. It is "a structure of outstanding importance to the history of American engineering and transportation technology." Specifically designed by John D. Hutchinson, the bridge employs the basic design of Squire Whipple. It is the only extant double-span Whipple bowstring truss bridge in the U.S.
The Medora Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the United states with the entire original historic truss still in place with some repairs but no structural changes. Measuring the clear span of 431'10", the Medora Covered Bridge is the longest historic covered bridge in the United States. The roof length of 461' and the siding at the floor length of 459' are also the longest historic covered bridge measurements in the U.S..
The McColly Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge in western Logan County, Ohio, United States. Located in Washington Township near the community of Bloom Center, it is one of two remaining covered bridges in Logan County. It carries County Road 13 over the Great Miami River, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of its source at Indian Lake.
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge, formerly known as South Branch Bridge or Romney Bridge, is a historic Whipple truss bridge in Capon Lake, West Virginia. It is located off Carpers Pike and crosses the Cacapon River. The bridge formerly carried Capon Springs Road over the river, connecting Capon Springs and Capon Lake.
The bridge is significant locally as the only Pratt through-truss bridge remaining in Kosciusko County, and is important regionally as one of the few surviving spans built by the Bellefontaine Bridge and Iron Company.
Starke County Bridge No. 39 is a single span Warren Pony Truss structure. The bridge is located on the northern outskirts of the small town of Knox, Indiana, where Main and Water Streets terminate at the former Penn Central Railroad cut. The bridge spans the rail cut in a northwest–southeast direction, allowing access to Wythougan Park.
The Powell Bridge is a National Register of Historic Places site that crosses Big Sugar Creek near the community of Powell, Missouri, a rural hamlet in McDonald County, Missouri in the Ozark Mountains region. The bridge was built by the East St. Louis Bridge Co. and was opened to traffic on August 16, 1915. The single-lane pin-connected Pratt through truss was open to vehicular traffic from 1915 until a new two-lane bridge was built and opened beside it in 2015. It is currently owned by the Powell Historic Preservation Society and is one of three sites in McDonald County on the National Register of Historic Places, which also includes the Old McDonald County Courthouse. The community of Powell itself is best known as the home of famed gospel writer Albert E. Brumley.
The East Shoreham Covered Railroad Bridge is a historic covered bridge spanning the Lemon Fair River near East Shoreham, Vermont. Built in 1897 by the Rutland Railroad Company, it is the state's only surviving example of a wooden Howe truss railroad bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Burrington Covered Bridge is a historic queenpost truss covered bridge in Lyndon, Vermont. Built in the 19th century, it is one of five covered bridges in Lyndon. It formerly carried Burrington Bridge Road across the Passumpsic River; it has been bypassed by a modern bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
