Stone Arch Bridges

Author: StoneArchBridges

  • Peter Johnson's Bridge

    Found: Butler’s Historic Peter Johnson’s Bridge

    In an unexpected discovery, we found one of the largest, oldest, and arguably most historic bridges in Butler County, Kansas, high and dry in a road embankment: the 1895 Peter Johnson’s Bridge built by Walter Sharp.

  • Fox Creek Bridge

    The Flint Hills’ Stone Bridge Heritage: Part 4

    The Flint Hills of Kansas are the home of many stone arch bridges. Wherever these structures remain, they are at once a part of the landscape itself and a lasting piece of the Flint Hills’ rich heritage.

  • Thomas Jefferson Smith Bridge

    The Flint Hills’ Stone Bridge Heritage: Part 3

    Of all the counties in the Flint Hills of Kansas, none built as many stone arch bridges as Butler and Cowley counties. Butler was a major pioneer in this respect, while Cowley built many record-breaking stone bridges.

  • Clements Bridge

    The Flint Hills’ Stone Bridge Heritage: Part 2

    The Flint Hills of Kansas have a rich stone arch bridge heritage. Despite the initial strenuous objections to the building of these bridges, persistence, especially in the local press, convinced communities to begin building these structures.

  • 1887 Clear Creek Bridge, Marion County

    The Flint Hills’ Stone Bridge Heritage: Part 1

    The Flint Hills of Kansas feature a rich heritage, including stone arch bridges. After trying wood and steel, Flint Hills counties began to build enduring bridges out of the material of the hills themselves.

  • Corbeled Arch

    Corbeled Pseudo-Arches

    The corbeled arch is an interesting stone structure that relies on the cantilever principle for stability, and can be used in bridges. Though called an arch, it is not a true arch for it produces no thrust.

  • Remains of a Chase County, KS. Stone Bridge

    The Catenary, Segmental Arches, and Roman Arches

    Segmental arches have a certain strength that is due to the fact that they closely approximate a catenary. Thus, low-rise arches can be very thin and able to free-stand.

  • Dry-laid arch under construction

    Planning the Falsework

    The formwork is important to arch building. It must be designed to handle the weight while maintaining the correct shape, and must be planned for easy removal without damaging the arch.

  • DIY Arch

    Efficiently Designed Stone Culverts

    Building stone arch culverts can be difficult to do without using a disproportionately large amount of material. In this post several ways the efficiency of design can be increased are discussed.