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, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. There are several types of truss bridges, including some with simple designs that were among the first bridges designed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A truss bridge is economical to construct primarily 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 1868. 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.
A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridge in the mid to late 1800s.
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.
Bridge L-158 is a disused railroad bridge over Muscoot Reservoir near Goldens Bridge, New York, United States. Built to carry New York Central Railroad traffic over Rondout Creek near Kingston, it was moved to its current location in 1904.
The Bridgeport Bridge was a historic structure located near Denmark, Iowa, United States. This span was a replacement bridge for the original structure whose middle stone pier was deteriorating. The weaknesses in the old bridge were noted in 1887 and 1893. Both Des Moines and Lee counties financed the $5,110 construction of this bridge, which spanned the Skunk River between the two counties. The 240-foot-long (73 m) Pennsylvania truss bridge was built in 1904 by the Clinton Bridge and Iron Works of Clinton, Iowa. It carried local traffic for nearly 90 years before it was closed. On February 27, 2024 the south abutment collapsed. The bridge was demolished over the next 3 weeks. It had the distinction of being the longest pin-connected truss remaining in Iowa. The Bridgeport Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Whipple Cast and Wrought Iron Bowstring Truss Bridge, is located near the entrance to Stevens Farm in southwestern Albany, New York, United States. It was built in 1867, but not moved to its present location until 1899. It is one of the oldest surviving iron bridges in the county, one of the few that use both cast and wrought iron and one of only two surviving examples of the Whipple bowstring truss type. In 1971 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the only bridge in the city of Albany so far to be listed individually.
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 Fremont Mill Bridge near Anamosa, Iowa was built in 1873. Its superstructure was designed and built by Massillon Iron Bridge Company and its foundations were built by James Milne. It is a wrought iron bowstring through arch bridge.
The Southwest Fifth St. Bridge is a historic structure located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Built in 1898 after a controversy surrounding the bidding process, it is one of the last Pratt through truss bridges left in an urban setting in Iowa. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as a part of the Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS.
The Pine Mill Bridge is an historic structure located in Wildcat Den State Park in rural Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1878 near the Pine Creek Gristmill, the only place in Iowa where a mill and bridge combination remains in place. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as a part of the Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS.
The Indian Creek Bridge is a wrought iron bridge, built about 1880 to the east of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The bridge crosses the Indian Creek, 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.
Phoenix Bridge is a historic metal trapezoidal Whipple truss railroad bridge spanning Craig Creek near Eagle Rock, Botetourt County, Virginia. It was built in 1887 by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. It consists of rolled wrought iron "Phoenix post" compression members and round and rectangular tension rods with pinned joints. It includes a cast panel embellished with anthemions and garlands, small urn-like finials, and quatrefoils and trefoils.
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 Wapsipinicon River Bridge is a historic structure located in Independence, Iowa, United States. It spans the Wapsipinicon River for 341 feet (104 m). The Buchanan County Board of Supervisors contracted with the Miller-Taylor Construction Company from Waterloo, Iowa, to build the new bridge on the south side of Independence for $37,680. However, high water created problems during construction, and the bridge was completed in January 1927 for $57,530. It replaced an earlier two-span iron truss bridge. This bridge is a concrete filled spandrel arch bridge with four spans. It was designed by the Iowa State Highway Commission, and continues to carry vehicle traffic. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. There is a similar bridge upstream in Independence that was built in 1918.
Hale Bridge is a historic structure located south of Anamosa, Iowa, United States. It spans the Wapsipinicon River for 296 feet (90 m). It is an example of a bowstring through-arch truss bridge. Perhaps thousands of these bridges were built in Iowa in the late 1860s through the 1870s. However, by 1992, fewer than twenty survive.
Old Appleton Bridge is a historic Pratt Truss Iron Bridge located at Old Appleton, Cape Girardeau County and Perry County, Missouri. It was built in 1879, and consists of a wrought iron, pin-connected, Pratt through truss main span, with two pin-connected, three panel Pratt pony-truss approach spans. It rests on limestone block masonry piers. The total length of the bridge is 161 feet (49 m).
The Chain Lakes Bridge is a historic structure located southeast of Palo, Iowa, United States. It carries a pedestrian trail for 370 feet (110 m) over the Cedar River. The Linn County Board of Supervisors began planning for this span in the early 1880s. They appropriated $20,000 for this two-span Pratt through truss The Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio, which built bridges in the county since 1879, completed this structure in 1884. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. While it was built to carry vehicular traffic, it is now in a nature preserve maintained by the Linn County Conservation Board.
The Townline Brook Bridge, also known as the Bennett Park Bridge, is a bridge carrying a private residential driveway over Townline Brook in Walton Township, Michigan, near 5882 Battle Creek Road. It is the only remaining 1870s bowstring truss bridge in the state of Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
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.
