Peters Creek S Bridge

Located between New Concord and Cambridge, Ohio, where U.S. Route 40 crossed Peters Creek, the S Bridge was constructed as part of the National Road.

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Located between New Concord and Cambridge, Ohio, where U.S. Route 40 crossed Peters Creek, the S Bridge was constructed in 1828 as part of the National Road. ¹ It was one of several similar masonry bridges built in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The bridge measured about 130 feet long and 26 feet wide. A single 30-foot stone arch spanned the creek on a line perpendicular to the flow of the stream, while the roadway curved on either side of the arch.

Its history was also tied to Zane’s Trace, the earlier road through the region. In 1803, that trace crossed Peters Creek a few hundred yards to the north, where logs were used to bridge the stream. ³

The S bridge was built of cut stone of varying sizes laid in courses of one foot or more, and its floor was constructed of brick. ¹ Its distinctive S-shaped design was functional as well as unusual. The curves eased the approaches to the crossing, reduced the length of arch required to span the stream, avoided steep grades, and helped protect the backfill from erosion.

During World War I, the entire National Road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois, was paved in brick to accommodate military traffic. ² The Peters Creek S Bridge was the one last sections to be bricked, and that work was completed in 1919.

The S bridge was bypassed with a new alignment of U.S. Route 40 in 1932. ⁴ In 1936, the Ohio Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution persuaded the Ohio Highway Department to route the road around the old structure rather than replace it with a new bridge. ¹

After years of neglect and damage from four successive floods in 2005, the bridge had deteriorated to the point that it was near collapse. ³ Its condition had become so severe that simple repairs would not have been enough to save it. Instead, the bridge underwent a complete rehabilitation that involved removing much of the original structure and rebuilding it. Work began in the spring of 2007 and was completed in November. Using modern tools and materials, the bridge was not only rehabilitated but also strengthened to better withstand future floods.

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Details

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Sources

1. Loveday, Amos J., Jr. “S” Bridge II. National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, July 1972.
2. “The Fox Creek ‘S’ Bridge Park.” Interpretative Marker, 1997.
3. “Peters Creek S-Bridge.” The Historical Marker Database.
4. Transportation Information Mapping System. Ohio Department of Transportation.