Historic Route 66 - Rock Creek Bridge - Sapulpa, Oklahoma, USA. - National Scenic Byways on Waymarking.com

A unique 1921 riveted Parker through truss bridge, with a 145 feet span. The deck of the bridge is concrete with a red brick wearing surface, & has a US Route 66 Shield painted on the road surface. Nearly every Mother Road enthusiast knows where this bridge is, across Rock Creek just West of Sapulpa.

If you look closely at the listing photos, the upper structure sway bracing, some of them are bent, where high vehicles must have hit the bridge.

This bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places (reference number NRHP 95000031) but its fate is still to be decided, so this historic piece of Americana, may be lost forever.



From the National Parks, Route 66 Corridor Preservation Web Site:
"Of the great number of bridges built on Route 66, Bridge #18 at Rock Creek is one of the better examples of the remaining steel-truss bridges in Oklahoma. Truss bridges were developed in the mid-1800s and used extensively until World War II, when technology changed and more standardized concrete designs were developed.

In terms of lineage, the ancestor of the steel-truss bridge is the beam bridge, usually built of wood and limited in the amount of weight it could support. As a result, early roads generally followed old trails where rivers and creeks were shallow. Even bridges that were quite long were located at shallow crossings.

One of the oldest types of modern bridges, truss bridges were altogether something new. Bridge #18 at Rock Creek is composed of connected elements, in this case steel beams, which stressed by tension and compression (or sometimes both) in response to dynamic and heavier loads. Because of truss bridges, deeper water could be safely crossed. Roadways no longer had to meander from one low-water crossing to another. Instead they could be built along the shortest route. Bridge #18 is a Parker through truss bridge. Its ancestor is the beam bridge, while its descendants are today’s cantilever, truss-arch, and lattice bridges. Unusual for a steel truss bridge, #18 has brick decking." Text Source; (visit link)

"Inventory numbers NRHP 95000031 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
OKNBI 016200000000000 (Oklahoma bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 28887 (Bridgehunter.com ID)Inspection (as of 01/2011)Deck condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient." Text Source: (visit link)

Program: America's Byways Website: [Web Link] Official Name: Historic route 66.

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