The iron bridge over Armuchee Creek just north of Rome was built in 1935.
This photo was taken on Sunday after a weekend of rain, so the creek is running high. On a normal day you can wade across the creek.
The bridge is not quite as old as it seems, but it’s still kind of a thrill to drive over it.
This bridge is located on Scenic Road, which I think used to be Little Texas Valley Road before Little Texas Valley Road was rerouted to enter US 27 a few hundred yards south of the creek. Highway 27 crosses the creek over a modern bridge, from which you may be able to catch a glimpse of the iron bridge a few hundred yards upstream. I usually take the old road.
The bridge is a Warren pony truss bridge. According to dictionary.com, a pony truss bridge has its deck between the top and bottom chords and has no lateral bracing at the top. It is a Warren truss bridge because it has multiple triangles in the truss. It was redecked about seven years ago, but you might not think it when you look carefully.
According to Bridgehunter.com, it is rated as structurally deficient. This site says that it has average daily traffic of 600 vehicles, which is quite a bit more than I would have expected.
Armuchee, which I have always heard pronounced as if it had a second “r” before the “ch” (“Armurchee”), is a fairly nebulously-defined area today. It used to be a town with its own power-generation dam right about where the iron bridge stands, and quite a few businesses, including a railroad depot. Scenic Road becomes Depot Street when it crosses US 27.
I won’t be surprised if the county decides one day to close the bridge rather than try to update it. Today it really serves no purpose other than nostalgia.
That is a very cool bridge! I love the video too. I think nostalgia can be a good reason to keep something like this.
Robin — I hope the county keeps the bridge even if they close it to motorized traffic. Right now they allow fairly large trucks over it, so apparently they aren’t too worried about its structural condition.