Stone Arch Bridges

Author: StoneArchBridges

  • Polecat Creek Bridge

    Designing the Span

    A wide variety of design options are available to the builder of a stone arch bridge. Here are some considerations that are helpful to keep in mind when narrowing down the design.

  • 1907 Private Abe Matheney Bridge

    A Unique Cowley County Stone Bridge

    We recently were invited to see a little-known stone arch bridge in Cowley County on a farm. This historic structure was built by Abe Matheney for a prosperous farmer in 1907.

  • Clues to the Past: Cowley’s “New” Stone Bridges and the Oak Valley Culverts

    A comparison of the Oak Valley, Elk County, Kansas, culverts with many of those in Cowley County, Kansas, suggests there were quite a few stone bridges built by local governments independently of the WPA in the 1930s.

  • Branch Hickory Creek Culvert

    The Oak Valley Stone Bridges

    In Oak Valley Township, Elk County, Kansas, we found eleven little-known stone arch bridges. Most of these structures are culverts, and their unique characteristics make these bridges quite noteworthy.

  • Sycamore Springs Bridge

    Walter Sharp on Kansas’s Stone Arch Bridge Era

    In this post we quote an interview published in 1905 featuring famous Kansas stone bridge builder Walter Sharp, in which Sharp succinctly captures the spirit and methods used in the building of Kansas’s stone bridges.

  • Rock Creek Bridge

    Moisture Management in a Stone Bridge

    Water retention, with causes ranging from incompatible mortars to poor initial design, can cause all manner of damage to a stone arch bridges. Here are some tips on ensuring a stone bridge can drain properly.

  • Augusta/Towanda Township Line Culvert

    Gothic Arches

    The Gothic arch, despite being commonly associated with cathedrals, can still be found in stone arch bridges. Surprisingly, it is one of the easiest arches to build.

  • Inside Towanda/Augusta Culvert

    The Classic Rubble Masonry Arch

    Arches constructed of rubble masonry are classic structures. They can be impressively strong, have their own unique characteristics, and are easy to build. Many stone bridges using this type of construction remain in use.

  • Running a stone up a ramp

    Moving Large Stones Manually

    There are several ways to manually lift and move large stones that are too heavy to simply pick up and walk away with. In this post, several simple manual ways to move those big rocks is shown.