AN OVERVIEW OF MASONRY ARCH BRIDGES IN THE USA

Masonry arch bridges, though a significant feature of the transportation landscape in the United States, represent a different history and present a different set of management issues than arch bridges in Britain or other European locations. The period during which the transportation system was sufficiently well developed to demand such permanent and monumental structures was quite short, and settlement and industrial activity during this period could be served by a relatively small number of transportation corridors. As a consequence, many fewer masonry arch structures were built in the United States than in England or continental Europe, and the highest concentration appeared in the northeastern part of the country. This bridge type makes up a much smaller proportion (less than 1%) of the total population of bridges in this country than in the UK for instance, and the number of such bridges in road service is quite small, probably slightly less than 1000. Unfortunately, there appears to be very little public sentiment in the United States for the preservation of stone arch bridges, particularly compared to the sentimental associations and passions the public seems to hold for covered timber bridges. (A)