Yes, the old two-lane bridge just south of the Tioga bridge was replaced just after the turn of the current century. Its replacement was built while the old metal bridge was still standing, and was completed after the metal bridge was demolished. The new bridge was named after William "Bill" Luse, who was involved in creating and operating "The Madam Carroll," a boat that docked nearby.
Somebody told me that there was also a one-lane through truss bridge over the Wabash on Bicycle Road that was three or four spans. They said it was removed like in the late 70s or early 80s. Its such a shame that both Bicycle bridges are gone!
I don't know what type of bridge was here myself. Does anybody have any info on what type of bridge the old one was. Was it a steel truss, concrete arch or any other? It would be interesting to find out because I've only been over the new bridge.
Does anyone have any pictures of the bridge set back on the pier?
Proper name Wabash Bridge built for the Wabash Railroad should be filed as Wabash Bridge for Railroad at Hannibal Missouri.
The span the collapsed has been reset, and lifted back on the pier, and is reopen to all traffic.
Sorry. Please disregard previous post. I was referring to another bridge just down the road. Your description of the bridge is accurate. The road is Methodist Church Road.
The bridge that is referred to as Methodic Church Bridge is actually a bridge on Old State Road at the intersection of Old State Road and Methodist Church Road. It does span the St. John's Creek in Franklin County.
To answer Kyle, yes and no.
The bridge's old auto deck is being considered for light-rail use, because of its design, the way the lower level can be lifted without stopping traffic on top.
However, light-rail still is very heavy, and with the BNSF railway running heavy-rail below, it may not hold that much.
However, there is a another bridge that is being considered that is not listed on this site, The Second Hannibal Bridge, it is about 400 feet upstream of the A.S.B., and it as well has an abandoned auto deck, but it is a swing bridge, and Kansas City, Missouri thinks that could be a problem, due that both the rail and auto decks would be stopped for river traffic when the span is open, but the A.S.B. would not, as of its lift design.
Another, is the Heart of America bridge, the A.S.B.'s replacement, it is a girder bridge, and it too is not strong enough for light-rail, as it is for automobiles only.
So, the subject is very well open, and the Armour-Swift-Burlington bridge may have the upper deck used again, but, like I said, the heavyness is the problem.
We will all have to wait.
Yup, thats the Fairfax and Platte Purchase bridges.
Glad you got some shots as this site did not have any.
As a newly married couple in oct. 1975, we were traveling from lackland air force base in antonio, texas north,
thru arkansas and missouri on our way to rantoul, illinois. my airman husband was going to attend school for a few
months at chanute air force base in rantoul. we heard that a few years later that base was eventually closed along
with several others, due to government cutbacks. well anyway our trip was going along rather nicely and
practically without incident. neither one of us had ever been north of texas or louisiana. we were young (17 and
19), had never been away from our families for any length of time. so we took off in our old 1969 chevy impala my
parents had given us as a wedding gift and set out on our first real adventure in our new married lives together. I
remember thinking how excited and full of enthusiam we were. we were just about thru missouri when suddenly we came
upon this long and narrow and dangerous looking bridge that if i remember right, crossed the mississippi and ohio
rivers. i looked at my new husband and said "do we really have to cross this thing? there can't be enough room for
two vehicles at the same time on it! isn't there another way we can take." looking again at our map, it confirmed
our worse fears. this was it, the only way to go. it looked like a new interstate highway was just under
construction and not fully completed to where we were heading. I learned some years later that that interstate
highway was eventually completed and a new four lane bridge was built across the river. here we are getting onto
the bridge, (approaching from its south end on a big curve if i remember correctly) praying for no oncoming
traffic. i think i must have closed my eyes because i was too scared to look down or ahead and we were about half
way over the bridge when i heard my husband say "oh no!" an 18 wheeler was approaching us in the opposite lane and
there was nowhere to go but straight ahead. i prayed and cried some more.i swear we must have touched each other in
passing. and then we met up with a couple of cars further down the bridge. it was a total nightmare. and half way
up there i decided to look down. my goodness we seemed so high up and there was nothing but water all around us.
first of all i have a fear of heights as well as water. so i was totally miserable. well we did eventually make it
over to the other side and then when you think it can't get any worse, we were faced with the steep levees and with
no shoulders.i didn't want look down there either for fear of falling or something. needless to say it was a
blessing when we entered cairo and left the horrid bridge with its fast moving rivers behind us. it was just a
really bad experience. two months later we took that same bridge again heading back down south to louisiana for the
christmas holidays. the trip going home wasn't so bad. but heading back up north was a different story. it had
snowed and the bridge was iced. oh gosh that bridge was so slick and it seemed like we were moving in slow motion.
we were barely trudging along. i thought we'd never get to the other side. and then there was the slick narrow road
along the levee going into cairo. that was certainly another memorable trip! what i would like to know is which
bridge this was. could this be the cairo mississippi river bridge? i think i read on here that there are two
bridges in that area. like i said i believe this bridge crossed both the mississippi and ohio rivers. i can't
remember the name or the highway. and does this bridge still exist? surely its been replaced by now. after all that
was 33 years ago and it seemed practially obsolete and so dangerous back then. have any major traffic accidents or
fatalities ever occurred on it? and also does cairo still exist? i know it was just a little town and i remember
little about it except it looked rather historical looking. i thought i would always have loved to go back up that
way for old times sakes, but i sure would avoid that bridge at all cost. HA!
The State Highway 23 bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, MN was closed on Thursday night due to bends in some of the reinforcing plates in the truss.
This is the same type of bridge that collapsed on August 1st, 2007 that supported I-35W.
We love our old blue bridge. It is an adventure in faith every time you cross it. It's a standing joke that when the driver education people take students across, and only hit the side rails once, you've passed your drivers test. Twice, and you fail!
This bridge is under going a rehab project -- should be done by end of summer 2008
Took several shots of this bridge and neighboring rail bridge. Hwy 45 automobile bridge in poor condition.
Went to shoot this bridge today and it is gone. Rest in peace.
Photo 7 of 20 Motor housing.
This is a Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge.
For the past 7 years (2)side-by-side temporary lift spans have been in place designed and built by Acrow Corporation. The span length is 210ft. Lift height is 120ft. Each span carries 2 lanes of traffic.
Wwent over it the other day
Below answer to Sep 07 question is copied from lakehistory dot info. It is a great site full of Lake of the Ozarks trivia, and pictures of the old bridges...
HURRICANE DECK is a nautical term associated with river steamboats. The hurricane deck was the uppermost deck. It provided a pleasant, breezy place to watch the passing scenery.
Steamboats plied the Osage River through much of the nineteenth century. Crewmen on these steamers named many of the prominent landmarks along the way. A certain long, flat ridge along the left (descending) bank of the river caught the attention of the steamboatmen. They came to call it the "hurricane deck" because it afforded quite a view of the river, and the wind always seemed to blow there.
Hurricane Deck ridge runs along the east side of Porter Mill Bend, between mile markers 37 and 38. Lake Road 5-36 follows the crest of the ridge.
Does anyone have any pictures of the old 141 bridge that used to be next to this railroad bridge (and looked just as old and rusty). I think it was torn down in the mid 80s. I was remembering it today when I saw old pictures of the 1982 flood on stltoday dot com, but there were no pictures of the bridge (or the railroad bridge).
Al Bertrum is correct. This bridge was just south of Columbia. We used to play around it as kids in the 60's before they tore it down. If you look to the left while driving south from Columbia to Waterloo you can see spots where the old tracks ran. There is also an old brick building shortly after the new YMCA that my Dad says was a power sub-station. I still have an old trolley token my Dad gave me.
The first implosion of the old Hermann bridge took place yesterday on the first span on the North end with additional charges to be set in the near future. Here is a picture from the local paper.
this bridge is tight
Only surviving example of this type.
Patented in 1852.
I have walked and driven across this bridge every since I can remember. Love this old bridge as a part of everyday life in a small town. (Even if a flood happens)
It appears this bridge is now closed. Appears to have been damaged by flooding. 100 years old when I took these pictures.
the bridge is still here, but now we cross our horses under it.
Took these over the past weekend.
Open to Pedestrians and bicycles maintained by Trailnet information from Wikipedia.
There's something amiss with the story on this bridge. The massive cut stone abutments that support the structure are pre-1900. They would not have been built in 1959. Perhaps the Pratt span (which would have been built on stone) was actually built at this location, with maybe a larger Whipple truss that was lost. Or at least there was another structure there that was replaced with these two spans for some reason. I just know that the abutments pre-date the timeline given. If anyone knows more on this story...please comment. THANKS
Dan these two shots are beautiful.
Jason, your photos really bring home the severity of the collapse. The high tension distribution towers, in the background, appear to be bowing in honor of those who lost their lives in the crash.
It's hard to get close enough to get good pictures. These are from March 08.
Great photos, Ken! I love good night photography because I can't do it.
My Grandparents lived on the Crawford county side of this bridge when I was growing up. I am enclosing a picture of my mother and a friend around 1937. It is looking from the Crawford county side toward the Harrison county side. You don't have to post it but thought you may like to see it.
This bridge is still standing.
This is the Uncle John Creek bridge
Demolished in 2002/
Demolished in 2002
This bridge is still in place, the new one was built 10-20 yards south of it on a straighter alignment.
Bridge sits on a dead-end road, but was open to traffic recently.
Very small truss.
Wow!!! they fixed the portal and it looks like they painted it too. Looks a lot better than it did when I visited it in the summer of 2004.
Hi John,
I like the way the site looks. Also like the way I can download photos to your site. I have added all that I have, including a lot from California and Oregon and a few from New York.
Thanks for creating a site that is educational and fun at the same time.
My grandparents farmed the Holtsman farm on either side of the bridge for many years. When driving a herd of cattle across the bridge, it would sway from side to side. For years it had only the horizontal planks for decking and when following another vehicle, one would see the heavy planks bouncing up and down. It was deemed so usafe, that children (my brother and I being two of them) on the west side of the river were bussed back to St. Robert, then east to highway 28, and back north to Dixon. Willie Alexander attempted to haul a load of cattle across it one time, resulting in the collapse of the western approach. I think it was at that time that the county decided to install parallel drive planks across the horizontal planks. For me, that old, rattley,rusted iron bridge will always be The Riddle Bridge.
This is the largest mixed span bedstead bridge that Gene my bridge buddy and I "have" photographed (sort of). This bridge celebrated it's 100th birthday by being torn down. We are from Arkansas where we have found no standing bedsteads and in Oklahoma we have photographed well more than a half dozen. Three of which on this day (in Okmulgee Co.)were closed or like this one, in the process of removal and total destruction.
I forgot to mention that there is "No Treaspassing" sign hidden and mostly grown over. However, I didn't see anyone out there while I was looking around.
I found this bridge several weeks ago while working in Morrilton. While I was there, I decided to take pictures. Most maps and GPS units show Creek Road to be open...while the road is actually a dead end. Google Earth even shows the bridge to be open. I've talked to several locals in the town and most have never heard of it. However, one fellow there claims that it was abandoned 25-30 years ago when Highway 95 was updated. It is extremely easy to locate as well.
Text from the National Historical Register
The Colorado River Bridge is a 1,285 foot-long concrete and steel structure with three steel truss spans, concrete piers and a long concrete approach at its west end. The bridge roadway is 20 feet wide and it crosses the Colorado River as state highway Loop 150 two blocks west of the Bastrop Commercial Historic District (N.R. 1978). While the Colorado River is normally contained within a 200-foot-wide channel 60 feet beneath the roadway, the bridge spans a much broader wooded flood plain.
The three bridge spans over the river bed consist of identical Parker through trusses, each 192 feet in length, supported on broad tapered concrete piers between spans. The riveted steel Parker trusses have a gently arced top chord, divided into seven sections by vertical struts.
Bids on the project were solicited and the Kansas City Bridge Co. was selected as contractor
A heavy duty Warren Pony Truss bridge on CR 106 or Old Hwy. 20 in Bastrop County, Near the Town of Butler, East of Elgin, It spans the Big Sandy Creek and is still in use today. Built by the Mosher Steel & Machinery Company of Dallas in 1922 it is 112 feet long by 18 wide.
Press photo from May 2, 1939. Men searching for a man associated with the Pendergast organiztion who they believed committed suicide by jumping from the bridge when faced with Federal income tax evasion charges.
Postcard image of the deck fire in 1916.
Post card images of the bridge.
Photographs showing the reconstruction of the bridge (span replacement) in September 1900.
Glad to see pictures of this bridge. I have been looking for information on it since I "found" it on a Jones Soda bottle. I knew from looking at it that it was a King B.C. product, and that it was very long. Thanks for the pics.
Well, gee, thanks for that most elegant example of constructive criticism. The bridge listings come from a list supplied by the government (which might explain a few things) that sometimes need a little editing. Perhaps you have access to the correct data you could supply?
I can't wait till they get rid of this useless eye sore. This bridge is falling apart. The school buses and emergence vehicles can't cross it. This think is in such bad shape, the highway department can't even plow it after a show storm. They've added one large steel plate to cover a gaping hole in the deck and need to add another before something falls through. To bad the thing wasn't made of wood!
I've read on the web, it's going to be replace in 2009. That's if the local hysterical society doesn't muck things up.
The Shasta River does not go through Shasta County at all. The Shasta LAKE bridges were built in the 30's. So were the Shasta River Bridges in SISKIYOU County. et your facts and geography right.
A Small Warren Pony Truss Bridge on Skalak Road, just south of Nelsonville, in Austin County, Texas. It spans West Mill Creek and was built in 1905 According to the State site, though it doesn’t look that old to me. This bridge is 60 feet long and 14 feet wide, and is still in service today.
This bridge has long served local traffic. It is near Elizabeth, Illinois. I photographed it March 12, 2008, and several cars crossed it during the few minutes I needed to take the photos.
This small bridge is near the entrance to an underpass for a railroad bed. The railroad is gone, but the old bridge and underpass remain. The bridge was photographed on March 8, 1008.
The deck planking is in poor condition, but the materials for repair seem to to be stockpiled near the span when I passed over the bridge March 9, 2008. The bridge spans a deep railroad cut, and is a beautiful combination of steel span and wooden railings and planking.
This bridge was destroyed and replaced when the road was widened to four lanes in 2003.
Tom, the reason that only a few bridges in downtown Chicago are currently listed here is the same reason there are no bridges listed from Seattle, Los Angeles or Portland. It's because no one has gone out to shoot the rest of them. Every bridge documented on this site has been done by volunteers at their own expense. I'd love to shoot the bridges in The Loop myself, after all, there are some spectacular bascule bridges there, but I have a tough time justifying the time and expense of doing so.
At the risk of sounding like a smartaleck, which is not my intent, if you'd like to see the bridges in The Loop documented, feel free to do so. I'm sure all the other volunteers here would love to see them!
If you don't happen to live in Chicago, feel free to shoot the historic bridges in your area - that's what the rest of us do.
Some of the previous comments, although a bit old, mention being afraid of this bridge. It may be old, but it's not in danger of collapsing. The NTSB has indicated that a design flaw was at fault for the I-35W bridge's failure. I, for one, have no fears about crossing it, other than the fact that there are no longer any shoulders.
This bridge was demolished on 23 July, 2007 after a new bridge was constructed alongside it. Please refer to Nathan Holth's website: http://www.historicbridges.org/truss/hickory/index.htm
for more details.
Bridge was closed to all traffic 03/09/2008.
Appears car accident on the North side of bridge severely damaged the guard rail leaving a large gap on that approach. From what I saw of most of the railing it wouldn't take much of an impact to just about tear the rail off clean. Most of the railing was barely attached because of rust damage. Bridge is in very poor shape.
How is it that this site doesn't list the bridges over the Chicago River in downtown Chicago?....Tom
How about a picture of the old bridge. Im sure someone out there has one. I was too stupid to take a pic of it. It was an awesome bridge.
This Brandywine bridge may have been built by Wiiliam J. Elliott. He was my wife's grandfather and he was a bridge builder in Chicago in partnership with a Mr. Kettler. In 1910 when he was building the bridge my wife's father who was two years at the time and lived in Marion, Oh. He became an orphan in January of 1911 and William's wife Nettie went down to Marion and adopted him in January of 1911. William was for sure bulding a bridge in Summit county in 1910-11...Tom
Enjoyed reading notes about Gould Farm. Spent many great summers there with my grandparents....Joe and Mary Henkins.
The 'clickity, clackity' sound as you went across the brigde is a wonderful memory.
Just a note, my brother Don Rose passed away in November, 2006.
Joe Rose
March 10, 2008
THIS MIGHTY BRIDGE IS VISIBLY A CONNECTION OF TWO WORLDS ONE BEING THE RIVER BOTTOMS WITH THEIR RICH SOIL AND LEVEL LAND THE OTHER BEING THE START OF THE OZARKS FOOTHILLS. AS A KID I TOO HELD MY BREATH WHEN CROSSING AND WONDERED WHY THEY MAKE SUCH A HIGH AND LONG BRIDGE SO ROUGH TO RIDE ON! I LIVED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRIDGE AND CROSSED IT MANY TIMES IT PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN MY LIFE AND NEVER NOTICED UNTIL RECENTLY. IVE WENT FISHING UNDERNEATH WITH MY GRANDPA PLENTY OF TIMES AND AROUND THE ISLAND THERE IS PLENTY OF HOLES AND GULLIES FOR CATFISH THERE. THAT BRIDGE IS THE LINK TO MEMORIES FOR MANY PEOPLE
I have found this bridge just north of Morrilton, Arkansas just off Highway 95. The bridge is located on Creek Road. I've asked a few locals the history....and some didn't know such bridge ever existed. Any ideas of years, builders, and why they decided to close such bridge since the bridge is still in pretty good shape.
This bridge is just a short detour from my route from work. I snapped a few pics during a snowfall this winter. Thanks for the great website!
This bridge is just a short detour from my route from work. I snapped a few pics during a snowfall this winter. Thanks for the great website!
This bridge was lost due to overloading.
Too address the pedestrian crossing, this is an option but the code for pedestrian crossing is based off square footage and it adds up pretty fast. So if a bridge is structurally unsound then it is hard to turn it into a pedestrian bridge and meet code.
An option to save a bridge is to form a not for profit organizantion and take ownership of the old structure, while providing area for the new one (if the new one was to go over the old). Then it is the not for profit's bridge, they can repaint it or repair it or do as they please with it. Counties and road departments have harder time with this because if thier is a problem and somebody gets hurt they can be liable in court for not meeting code.
First to address how safe you feel. Concrete I girder or large steel girder bridges are alot stronger bridges than truss designs. Truss bridges are usually fracture critical, so if ONE member fails ALL fail, like the I 35W bridge structure. Now it is being recommended all of these old truss bridges should be evaluated to ensure the gusset plates are strong enough.
A multi girder bridge over 3 girders, like 4 or 5 or more are not true fracture critical, meaning that they can still stay standing if one or more things fail. The Concrete I girder Bridges are the STRONGEST BRIDGES MADE today. They are also one of the cheapest ways to build bridges.
A barge hitting the bridge has NOTHING to do with what type of super structure it is. The barge will damage the piers or webwalls. These are designed stronger today then in the past. If the substructure fails no matter what the super will fall.
I agree that better looking bridges would be great, I love to look at them too, and would love to design them but they cost too much. Alot of the reason nice concrete arc bridges and truss bridges were made was because labor was cheap, so who cares if they were labor intensive to build. Now you have the opposite the labor is the expensive part so you precast as much as you can and minimize intensive labor (Iron work). This is becuase of prevailing wage rates mandated, if they were not used then the cost would go down.
I passed over this bridge alot while growing up, and think these MO river bridges of similar truss style look very good but looks are not an option sometimes when there is no money to build it.
Well done Fred ! I cannot tell you how many hundreds of times I have crossed this bridge and thought it was just a boring stringer. Driving down to the boat ramp to check never crossed my mind. You would never know from the deck it was an open spandrel arch. Think maybe the ugly deck cladding was added during the 1957 rehab ? I will have to stop and see it in person next time I am up that way. Again well done !
Visited this bridge by chance on 5Mar'08. There is an AG&F river access boat ramp. The open spandrel 3-arch concrete bridge has a lengthy north approach and the bridge structure is not visible from the road surface. It appears that substantial steel girders have been cheeked to the outer edges (not original), but not done recently. River was flowing strong. Community of Midway begins on the south bank.
This bridge was hit by a car in late February and is damaged beyond repair. The county has said it will not be replaced. This was the last bridge of this kind in the area.
Joe
I grew up swimming and fishing at this spot.I even drove a car for the first time across the swinging bridge!I am truely sad to see that it's gone. I haven't been home to Vienna in over thirteen years! It's hard to imagine it any different than it was when I left. Nothing lasts forever, not even bridges!
Yeah! I agree. For major or navigable rivers like the Missouri, I think more interesting bridges need to be built like cable stayed, tied arch, or continous truss. Also, I think these boring stringer and girder bridges may not be safe if hit by barges, so I'd feel more safe crossing an older truss or intersesting type of bridge!
Yuck!!! What a piece of crap that new bridge is!!! I honestly think it's ridiculous that new bridges are being so boringly!!! i think they should have left the old one up for pedestrians and cyclists. As a person who lives in a college dorm that has a nice old-fashioned lounge, I think that old pieces of history should never be destroyed. Why does the need for a funcional and cost-effeicient bridge preclude it being INTERESTING!!??? Why can't bridges be safe AND interesting??
This bridge still exists it is located at 8166 Day Pike, Maysville Ky. I am in the process of restoration of the bridge and would like to find any old pictures of it. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the bridge.
Mike Brace
The old iron bridge is a landmark. It would be a tragedy if it were to be demolished. Build a new one soon, but please keep this bridge intact!
Hello,
This particular trestle reminds me of the one located about 20 miles northwest of Chattanooga, TN. Unfortunately, I cannot find my picture. However, I have remembered this bridge ever since I saw it about 12 years ago. My mother and I were driving from Florida to Missouri, and we were rounding a bend in the highway ( I think Hwy 24, from Atlanta to Nashville). Man, there was that trestle!!!!Tall, black, and awesome crossing the road. It's possible this bridge may be in a book specifically about railroad bridges. If I can find my picture, I'll attach it to this site.
Remick
I have heard a rumor that the A.S.B. bridge might be re-habilitated for use with the light rail in kansas city. Is this true or not?
As I understand when this bridge was being built, a bridge worker helping to construct the bridge fell into one of the
piers on the main span during the pouring of the concrete. The ill fated worker would have been sealed in the pier like a tomb. During the demolition of this bridge was the worker found?
I get an eerie feeling every time I cross the Ironton-Russell Bridge. I feel that if the deficiency has a rating of 7 then the money should be found to replace the bridge in 2008-2009 not in 2011. I mean I think a government grant or something should apply here, afterall the safety of the public traveling over the bridge should be first and foremost. The bridge is closed in sub zero weather because it could collapse in those temperature. I do believe that we pay enough in taxes to be able to drive across a safe bridge.
More information about the bridge can be obtained at www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/may/19/historic_baldwin_bridge/ If the link does not work go to www.ljworld.com and search for Women's Bridge.
This small stone arch bridge has a very interesting history. In order to walk from downtown Baldwin City to the railroad depot, one had to ford the East Fork of Tauy (pronounced toy) Creek. This was a problem because women would get their dresses muddy. In order to solve this problem, Baldwin City mayor Lucy Sullivan and her all female city council ordered the construction of this bridge. The bridge has recently been rehabilitated and remains open to traffic on High Street.
My 91 year old father tells me that his father, Raymond Hampton, helped build this bridge. Are there any records that list names of the crew that worked on this bridge?
I have seen, (played), and walked parts of this line. It is extremely over grown, washouts, parts removed, and other things. All there is, is a right of way. I am from Missouri, when I see a train on that line, then and only then only then will I believe that is reopened. If the nations largest railroad, UP, decided that it is not worth the cost of reopening, I highly doubt it ever will. Do not get me wrong, I would love to see it reopened, but they have been talking about reopening it for close to 25-30 years now.
I searched, and searched, and i can not find this bridge anywhere.
does anyone know were it is?
This bridge is abandoned. It is on what was the old US 29, which is now Old Columbia Pike. It's in pretty crummy shape, and just a bit to the east are abutments for a long gone road bridge which might have been some sort of truss.
Having been born and raised in Metaire, LA, as a child, 7 yrs. old. I can remember just waiting for "The Causeway" to open. On a Sunday "outing", the family packed into the car for our first crossing. What a wonderful memory. When we got to the Northshore, we turned around and headed for home. Pls realize that at that time Mandeville was almost non-existant, and Covington was just a speck on the map.
When the second span was opened, now having a driver's license, I was one of the first to cross. Oh, how the memories flood back (no pun intended). Just a penny for every time I made the crossing!
What brought this on, I received an e-mail that claimed that the Donghai Bridge in China is the longest bridge in the world at 32.5km (20.19 mi.---if my conversion factor is correct). That leaves it approx. 3 miles short of our beloved bridges.
The center span of this bridge is actually a Parker Truss with the top chords inverted so they "dip" towards the center of the span, hence the term Reverse Parker. This is easier seen in a side view of the bridge. This bridge is believed to be the only Reverse Parker Truss in existence.