Bridge No: 0470015200300

Asset ID: 61

County: Anderson

Facility Carried: S-4-152 (High Shoals Road) – original bridge bypassed

Feature Intersected: Rocky River

Year Built: 1919, moved to current location in 1952, bypassed in 1987

Main Structure Type: Thru Truss

Design: Parker (Riveted)

Main Material: Steel

Railing Type:

Number of Main Spans: 1

Structure Length: 194 feet

Structure Width:

Setting: According to state bridge inspection files, the bridge was closed to traffic and bypassed in 1987 by a new bridge on a new alignment to the south of this bridge.The 1919 bridge is now off system.New bridge is 0470015200300.Recent photos indicate that the truss bridge remains in place.

According to the 1981 bridge survey, this bridge is a former 194'-long swing span, fabricated in 1919, that was relocated to Anderson County as a fixed bridge in 1952.All mechanical systems and operators house have been removed.The thru truss superstructure is a Pratt configuration with polygonal upper chord.It is supported on concrete abutments and a pier that replaces the original pivot pier.This technically makes it a two-span continuous thru truss span. The truss lines are traditionally composed of rolled sections and built-up box sections for the upper chords and inclined end posts.

The riveted thru truss span was originally built as a swing span in 1919 and located over the Edisto River that is the boundary between Charleston and Colleton counties. The 1919 bridge was fabricated by the Virginia Iron and Bridge Company of Roanoke, VA.The 194'-long swing span was moved and re-erected in Anderson County in 1952.The state highway department repurposed many truss bridges that proved too narrow for their original location but could improve roads with lower volume during the 1950s.In turn, the old swing span was bypassed but left in place in 1987.The 1919 bridge is technologically and historically significant as one of the oldest documented riveted truss bridges in the state.They were once a common and vitally important feature of 1910s and 1920s efforts to develop and improve a statewide network of highways.Only a handful of pre-1920 examples of highway-related truss bridges remain in the state.The fact that the movable machinery has been lost does not diminish the significance of the truss lines and design of the 194'-long span.Virginia Bridge and Iron Company was a prominent metal bridge fabricator throughout the south.The bridge meets criterion A and criterion C.