Salt Fork S Bridge

The Salt Fork S Bridge is located along the National Road east of Old Washington in Guernsey County, Ohio.

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History

The Salt Fork S Bridge is located east of Old Washington in Guernsey County, Ohio. Constructed in 1828, it formerly carried the National Road and U.S. Route 40 over Salt Fork Creek. ¹

The crossing is one of several masonry S bridges built in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and it contains a 40-foot stone arch span over the creek, set on a line perpendicular to the stream’s flow, while the roadway curves on either side of the arch. ² Built of cut stone laid in courses of one foot or more, the S Bridge originally had a brick floor. ¹ Its distinctive S-shaped form is both unusual and practical. The curves ease the approaches to the crossing, reduce the length of arch needed to span the stream, avoid steeper grades, and help protect the backfill from erosion.

The S Bridge was bypassed when U.S. Route 40 was realigned in 1932. 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

In 1965, the Salt Fork S Bridge was designated a National Historic Landmark. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2005.

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Gallery

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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. Transportation Information Mapping System. Ohio Department of Transportation.