Stone Arch Bridges

Improving a Stone Arch Bridge’s Serviceability by Strengthening: Part 1

To determine how to strengthen a stone arch bridge, it helps to understand how it behaves when overloaded in order to understand the forces at play.

Where a stone arch bridge must be founded on soft ground, there are several simple steps can be taken to prevent settling of the structure.

The 1899 Dry Creek Bridge is the second oldest stone arch bridge in Butler County, Kansas, and has recently been given an excellent rehab.

Mortarless stone retaining walls have to resist the perpetual thrust of the soil they are withholding. Here are several ways this can be done.

Mortarless stone arch bridges need extra care to ensure they are not overwhelmed by foliage and that friction between stones remains high.

A key concern when maintaining a mortarless stone arch bridges is how stones can be worked loose by vibration. There are ways to prevent this.

Butler County, Kansas has lost a stone arch bridge as part of a reconstruction project. Two more stone bridges are scheduled to be reconstructed.

The oldest stone arch bridge in Butler County Kansas was built in 1897 by stone bridge advocate Abe Matheney and carries SW 70th over Turkey Creek.

The keystone, while generally no more important than any other arch stone, does require some special attention to fit properly.

A very early stone arch culvert was built at El Dorado, Butler County, Kansas in 1882, associated with a long-gone mill.