Pugh Ford Bridge

The Pugh Ford Bridge is a through-truss structure that carries County Route 900 North over the Flatrock River in Bartholomew County, Indiana.

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The Pugh Ford Bridge (Bartholomew County Bridge No. 73) is a through-truss structure that carries County Route 900 North over the Flatrock River in Bartholomew County, Indiana. It is also known as the Pence Bridge and the Hoot Owl Holler Bridge.

History

Pugh Ford derived its name from Francis Pugh, an Irish-born farmer on whose land the shallow crossing was located. ² Before a bridge existed, the ford offered northern Flatrock Township residents access to Indianapolis via the old State Road (the predecessor to U.S. 31) and the Jeffersonville & Indianapolis Railroad. Without a permanent crossing, travel remained vulnerable to the Flatrock River’s frequent flooding.

By the early twentieth century, population growth and commercial needs renewed interest in a dependable bridge. ^{1 2} In June 1903, “divers resident freeholders of Flatrock and German Townships” petitioned the Bartholomew County Commissioners for a bridge at Pugh Ford, but the request lay dormant for six years.

In early 1909, the commissioners hired William H. Rights to prepare plans for a steel truss bridge. ² Rights, a Purdue-trained civil engineer and the Columbus city engineer, had also served as county surveyor. The commissioners approved his plans in April and began soliciting bids. They ultimately rejected Rights’ steel-truss design in favor of a concrete span designed by Daniel B. Luten. ^{1 2} The National Concrete Company submitted the lowest bid at $7,550 plus piling if required. Rights strongly objected to the choice of concrete and warned the commissioners that the bridge would wash out. His objections may have reflected his training prior to the widespread acceptance of reinforced concrete or his ties to the local ironworks industry. Despite his protests, construction began in late spring 1909.

Completed in summer 1909, the bridge consisted of a 90-foot center span flanked by two 75-foot spans. ² Although the arches followed Luten’s patented designs, the substructure was not built as specified. The commissioners chose to deepen the concrete piers rather than install the pile foundations required in the plans, a decision that proved costly. ^{1 2}

Heavy rains in February 1910 caused widespread flooding. ² On February 25, the two west spans of the Pugh Ford Bridge washed out. Believing the bridge carried a one-year guarantee, county officials demanded that the National Concrete Company replace the structure. Luten inspected the site and stated that the bridge should not have failed if the piling had been installed. After learning that no piling had been used, he remarked that the failure was unsurprising. The contractor refused to rebuild the bridge at no cost, and the dispute was adjudicated in court.

The collapse attracted national attention. ² Luten was a prominent concrete-bridge designer, and Engineering News—an influential engineering journal—sent an editor to investigate. ^{1 2} The resulting report concluded that deviations from the original design largely caused the failure, weakening the county’s case. The lawsuit ended in a settlement in which the county paid $4,450 and Luten paid $650. ¹

When replacing the failed spans, the commissioners returned to Rights’ steel-truss design, adopting it with minor revisions. ^{1 2} In April 1911, they awarded contracts to the Elkhart Bridge & Iron Company for the steel superstructure and to the National Concrete Company for the new abutments and pier. Ralph Gosch was appointed superintendent. ² When Gosch reported that the concrete work exceeded specifications, the commissioners sent engineer Henry C. Deist to verify the claim. Only after his confirmation did they authorize the $1,050 payment to the contractor.

The Pugh Ford Bridge was completed in August 1911 at a cost of $1,050 for the concrete work and $3,400 for the steel superstructure. ²

The completed bridge consisted of two pin-connected Pratt through-truss spans seated on concrete abutments, wingwalls, and a central pier. ² Each span extended 256 feet in eight panels. Laced channels formed the intermediate verticals, die-forged eyebars served as diagonals, and adjustable cylindrical rods acted as counters in the three central panels. The I-beam floor system was U-bolted to the lower pins. The deck originally carried asphalt over metal pans, with a 16-foot roadway and 14-foot-6-inch vertical clearance.

In December 1994, the county received $140,000 in federal Transportation Enhancement Activity funds to restore the Pugh Ford Bridge. ³ It was listed on the Indiana State Register of Historic Places in July 1999 and on the National Register of Historic Places in September. ¹

The bridge had been closed to traffic since May 2025 because of structural deterioration. ⁴ In August, county commissioners approved a $148,200 agreement with USI Consultants to conduct the required study for obtaining federal matching funds. Repairs were expected to cost more than $6 million.

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Gallery

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Details

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Sources

1. “Pugh Ford Bridge.” Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
2. Thayer, Laura, James Cooper, Monica Fry, and Marc Holma. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Pugh Ford Bridge. Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, 10 Nov. 1998. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
3. Maschino, Brenda. “County gets funds for roads, bridges.” The Republic, 1 Dec. 1994, p. A1.
4. Davis, Brad. “Commissioners fund study on failing Pugh Ford Bridge.” The Republic, 20 Aug. 2025.