Wills Creek Bollman Bridge

Coordinates: 39°49′06″N 78°59′41″W / 39.81833°N 78.99472°W

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Wills Creek Bollman Bridge
Wills Creek Bollman Bridge, pictured at former location
Coordinates	39°49′06″N 78°59′41″W / 39.81833°N 78.99472°W / 39.81833; -78.99472
Carries	Allegheny Highlands section of Great Allegheny Passage trail
Crosses	Scratch Hill Road
Locale	Meyersdale, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
Design	truss bridge
Total length	81 feet (25 m)
Width	13 feet (4.0 m)
History
Opened	1871
Location

The Wills Creek Bollman Bridge originally served the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Pittsburgh Division main line.

Designed by the self-taught civil engineer Wendel Bollman in 1871, this truss bridge is the last remaining span of the Pittsburgh Division line associated with Bollman. Around 1910, it was moved from Wills Creek to a location 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, after it was no longer able to safely carry heavier modern locomotives. It served as a vehicular bridge crossing CSX tracks on Long Road (Summit Township Road 381) at 39°49′48″N 79°02′34″W / 39.83°N 79.042778°W / 39.83; -79.042778.^[1] The bridge was again relocated in 2007 to a location east of Meyersdale, where it now carries the Great Allegheny Passage trail over Scratch Hill Road at 39°49′06″N 78°59′41″W / 39.81833°N 78.99472°W / 39.81833; -78.99472.^[2]

Though it was designed by Wendell Bollman, it does not employ his famous Bollman truss, but rather a Warren truss. It is 81 feet (25 m) long and 13 feet (4.0 m) wide. The east abutments are constructed of concrete, while the west are earthen with wood ties. This bridge has a wood deck, and ornate cast iron end pieces, lacework, and compression members. End posts and tension members are constructed of wrought iron.

The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1978.^[3]

References

^ Brown, Scott C. "Wills Creek Bollman Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
^ "The Historic Bollman Bridge". Meyersdale Area Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

External links

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-373, "Wills Creek Bollman Bridge, Spanning CSX tracks at T381, Meyersdale, Somerset County, PA"

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wells Creek Bollman Bridge.

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