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 Coraopolis Bridge is a girder bridge over the back channel of the Ohio River connecting Grand Avenue on Neville Island to Ferree Street in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. It opened in 1995 to replace a structure of historic significance. The original Pratt/Bowstring/Pennsylvania through truss spans, designed by Theodore Cooper, were formerly the (third) Sixth Street Bridge, spanning the Allegheny River, in downtown Pittsburgh, and were built in 1892 by the Union Bridge Company. They were floated downstream by the Foundation Company in 1927 rather than being demolished when the bridge was removed to enable construction of the present (fourth) Three Sisters (Pittsburgh) Sixth Street Self-anchored suspension bridge. However, by the late 1980s, the old bridge could no longer support traffic volumes and was replaced by a newer structure.
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 (91 m) 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.
Blackfriars Bridge in London, Ontario, Canada is a wrought iron bowstring arch through truss bridge, crossing the North Thames River. The bridge was constructed in 1875 and carries single-lane vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians from Blackfriars Street to Ridout Street North.
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" Whipple bowstring truss bridge in the U.S., having two identical spans placed in series over a common pier.
The Hadley Parabolic Bridge, often referred to locally as the Hadley Bow Bridge, carries Corinth Road across the Sacandaga River in Hadley, New York, United States. It is an iron bridge dating from the late 19th century.
The Glen Falls Bridge is a historic bridge that formerly carried Brunswick Avenue over the Moosup River in Plainfield, Connecticut. Built in 1886 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, it is one of a shrinking number of surviving 19th-century lenticular truss bridges in the state. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It has been closed to all traffic for many years.
The Dodd Ford Bridge is a bridge spanning the Blue Earth River about 1 mile (2 km) southwest of Amboy, Minnesota, in Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
The Clinton Falls Bridge, also known as the Old Mill Bridge and formally as Bridge L-5573, is a historic steel Pratt through truss bridge that spans the Straight River in Clinton Falls Township, Minnesota. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as Bridge No. L-5573 for having local significance in the theme of engineering. It was nominated for being an example of early steel truss bridge design in Minnesota.
The EDZ Irigary Bridge is a historic Pennsylvania truss bridge in southeastern Johnson County, Wyoming. The bridge was built in 1913 at Sussex, Wyoming, and moved in 1963 to Irigary Road. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as part of a Multiple Property Submission devoted to historic bridges in Wyoming.
The Indian Creek Bridge is a wrought iron bridge, built about 1880 to the east of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The bridge crosses a tributary of the Cedar River in Linn County. It was designed and built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company (WIBCO) of Canton, Ohio as an eight-panel pin-connected through truss in an unusual double-intersection Pratt design.
The Delhi Bridge, also known as the East Delhi Bridge, is a one-lane, wrought iron Pratt through truss bridge that carries East Delhi Road over the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The bridge was completed October 12, 1883 to replace a wooden span built in 1851. In 1917, the bridge was severely damaged by a tornado but was rebuilt. After it was closed to traffic in 2005 for being unsafe, the bridge was renovated and reopened in 2009. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
Pugh Ford Bridge, also known as Bartholomew County Bridge No. 73, is a historic Pratt through truss bridge spanning the Flatrock River at Flat Rock Township and German Township, Bartholomew County, Indiana. It was built by the Elkhart Bridge and Iron Co. and built in 1911. It consists of two spans, with each measuring 128 feet long. It rests on concrete abutments and a concrete pier.
Aqueduct Bridge, also known as the Coffey Bridge and Clay County Bridge #182, is a historic Pratt through truss and Pratt pony truss bridge located in Perry Township and Sugar Ridge Township, Clay County, Indiana. The original span was built by the Cleveland Bridge and Iron Company in 1880 and the second section by the Vincennes Bridge Company in 1920. It carries Towpath Road over Birch Creek. The original span measures 60 feet (18 m) and the second span 102 feet (31 m) long. They rest on concrete abutments and a central pier.
Lamb's Creek Bridge, also known as Morgan County Bridge No. 146 and Burnett's Creek Bridge, is a historic Pratt through truss bridge located in Jefferson Township, Morgan County, Indiana. It was built in 1893 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company. It is 85 feet (26 m) long and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide. It is supported by cast-in-place concrete abutments.
Ohio Street Bridge, also known as the Joan Marchand Overlook, is a historic Pratt through Truss bridge located at Evansville, Indiana. It was built in 1891 by the Pittsburgh Bridge Company and the sandstone abutments constructed by Eigenmann & Hoolerbach. It is a single span steel truss bridge and measures 198 feet long and 24 feet wide. It is closed to vehicular traffic but is used by pedestrian traffic.
The Straight Street Bridge is a vehicular bridge over the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Morley Bridge, also known as the Romley Bridge, located near Romlee in Chaffee County, Colorado, is a wrought-iron pin-connected Pratt truss bridge that was built in 1881. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
