The Bell Ford Post Patented Diagonal "Combination Bridge", often simply called the Bell Ford Bridge or Bell Ford Covered Bridge, is a dilapidated
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
located in
Jackson County, Indiana
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 42,376. The county seat is Brownstown.
History
Jackson County was formed in 1816. It was named after General Andrew Jackson.
Jackson County was ...
, northwest of
Seymour, Indiana
Seymour is a city in Jackson County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 21,569 at the 2020 census.
The city is noted for its location at the intersection of two major north–south and east–west railroads, which cross each other in th ...
. The bridge originally passed over the East Fork of the
White River on a former alignment of
State Road 258, and was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on March 25, 2005.
The bridge was originally built in 1869. Built in two sections, the wood and iron bridge measured 325 feet long. It reflects a time when the construction of bridges began switching from wood to iron / steel, every tensile web in the trusses made of iron, every compression member made from wood. The now unusual use of both materials has made it said that the Bell Ford Bridge is "the best representation of the American engineering “combination” bridge form".
[''AP'' August 22, 2008] Until 1970 it was regularly used by both cars and animals. The western span collapsed in February 1999 during a windstorm, and the eastern span collapsed on January 2, 2006, nine months after it made the National Register.
Its collapse meant that no combination variant
Post Truss
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 ...
remained standing worldwide.
[ ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs.]
After the Bell Ford Bridge's January 2006 collapse, Jackson County Commission President Gary Darlage said: "There is nothing left of the Bell Ford Bridge and I will not spend another tax dollar on it. Ninety percent of the people in this county think it is asinine to even consider rebuilding that bridge. On July 25, 2007, United States Representative
Baron Hill announced that the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program would be giving the Bell Ford Bridge and two other covered bridges in Jackson County $2.08 million total for restoration. $448,000 of the grant was for the Bell Ford Bridge.
On August 19, 2008, the commissioners of Jackson County voted 3–0 to sell what remained of the bridge to an interest group who intended to rebuild the bridge at
Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park
Fort Harrison, sometimes called Fort Ben, is an Indiana state park located in Lawrence, Indiana, United States, and occupies part of the former site of Fort Benjamin Harrison. The park features a former Citizen's Military Training Camp, Civilian ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
, over away from its current location. It would allow walkers and bikers to cross over Fall Creek. The restoration is expected to take two years and cost $2 million (
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
), with a hope that federal grants will be available. It has been promised that historical markers will denote its history in Jackson County, but some preservationists in Jackson County decry it being moved, saying the grant money was already there to pay for its renovation in Jackson County.
One thing that might stop the bridge from being moved is if Jackson County would have to repay $123,000 of federal money for design and restoration work it received to use on the bridge since 1999.
In late May 2010 an Indiana Department of Transportation representative requested of Jackson County commissioners that a decision be made in the coming month.
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{NRHP bridges
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana
National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Indiana
Historic American Engineering Record in Indiana
Transportation buildings and structures in Jackson County, Indiana
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana
Wooden bridges in Indiana