Fitchville Bridge 1929 - 2013

Fitchville Bridge 1929 - 2013. . , The previous bridge, which carried U.S. Route 250 over the Vermilion River was a six-span, open spandrel, concrete Rib-arch design. It was built for the Ohio Department of Highways, after the previous bridge, built in 1885, collapsed under a heavy truckload in March of 1928. The replacement bridge contract was awarded to William A. Yeagle of Clyde, Ohio at a cost of $34,802.17, on June 15, 1928., The bridge was determined eligible for listing in the national register of historic places in 2006 by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and Ohio Department of Transportation as representative example of an open-spandrel concrete arch, designed by M.X. Wisda and D.H. Overman, of the Ohio Department of Highways Bureau of Bridges, a recognized leader in bridge design across the country during the late 1920's and 1930's., Mr. Overman worked as a design engineer in the Bureau of Bridges from 1925 through 1964. His Bridge designs were known for their aesthetic details, custom railings, and light graceful, appearance. The Fitchville Bridge was drawn shortly after Overman's contribution in the 1927-built Ashtabula Viaduct, a 1200-foot-long open-spandrel arch, which spanned the Ashtabula River Valley on U.S. Route 20. In his Fitchville design, Overman employed simple classical revival aesthetics in its recessed panels on the four large railing posts at the corner of the main, spans, arched openings in the original railing, capitals on the spandrel columns, and curved concrete consoles under the deck., The earliest concrete arch bridges were of the closed spandrel type, in which the arches are sealed and filled with dirt to support the roadway. Advances in steal-reinforced concrete allowed for the development of bridges with "Open Spandrels", creating a graceful, visual appeal, enhancing the scenic and prominent locations where they were chosen. A similar open spandrel arch bridge was built in 1933 at Wakeman, on U.S.20, crossing the vermilion River.