GDOT Bridge No. 145/01427/F/00050E is significant because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a treated timber bridge with steel I-beams constructed in the Report Prepared By: Gail Anne D'Avino Transportation Planner I Office of Environment and Location Georgia Department of Transportation Atlanta, Georgia Date: October Georgia DOT Bridge No. 145/01427/F/00050E HAER NO. GA-80 Page 2 GDOT Bridge #145/01427/F/00050E is located on Old West Point Road/CR 29 spanning Long Cane Creek east of West Point, Georgia. This is the original location of the bridge. The current setting of the bridge, which is rural, is compatible with the setting at the time of the bridge's construction. This bridge is a treated timber bridge with steel I-beams.
This bridge represents a short span trestle style of bridge. The original design of the structure is completely intact. The original construction materials are in place. The substructure is treated timber while the superstructure is composed of steel stringers with timber deck and a timber "fence post" balustrade. This bridge has seventeen main spans with a maximum span length of fifteen feet meters). The structure measures 255 feet meters) in length by twenty-four feet meters) in width. This bridge was constructed in Searcy B. Slack was the Georgia Department of Transportation's Bridge Engineer at that time. Components of the structure routinely have been repaired and/or replaced.
The bridge is significant because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a treated timber bridge constructed during the Extant treated timber bridges with steel I-beams in Georgia date from to the present. This treated timber with steel I-beam type bridge is one of approximately forty-seven bridges of this type found in the state and one of three found in Harris County built prior to This bridge is representative of those built during the and which utilized treated-timber pilings in the substructure and a timber deck and railing in the superstructure. The design, materials and workmanship of this bridge are typical of this type of bridge. These bridges were erected in a variety of locations, both urban and rural. Therefore, the settings differ depending on location.
Timber provided earliest man with a means of bridging water. Because of its ready availability, timber continued in popularity during early highway construction as an economical means of spanning waterways. By the mid-19303, with the development of less expensive steel, steel "took the lead as the primary bridge material." Also during this time, "the popularity of reinforced concrete increases and became a primary material for bridge decks." The demands for material and manpower during the Second World War practically stopped the construction of bridges in Georgia from to Only essential projects providing access to war-related industries and roads on the Strategic Highway Network were placed under construction.
In the post-war years, timber was no longer used as a bridge-building material by the Department. According to the Twenty-Second Report of the State Highway Department, "timber of sizes and stress grades required for the construction of timber bridges has all but disappeared from the local market. Delivered price of timber shipped from the Pacific Coast is too high for consideration. It has, therefore, been necessary for the Division of Bridge and Road Design to develop a design for a low-cost bridge built of available material that will meet the need formerly filled by Georgia DOT Bridge No. 145/01427/F/00050E HAER NO. GA-80 Page 3 timber bridges.
This design provides a bridge of steel and concrete, stronger and more durable-than timber bridges and costing but a small fraction more." Timber regained some popularity due to advances in lumber technology, including preservation techniques. These improvements caused a renewed interest in wood for bridge construction. Wood continues to be used today on low volume county roads. Endnotes: Michael A. Ritter, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Timber Bridges: Design, Construction, Inspection, and Maintenance (Washington Government Printing Office, State Highway Board of Georgia, Twenty-Second Report of the State Highway Department of Georgia 59. I
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