Click image to enlarge. Shown is the 1905 Holt bridge that is the last of its kind in eastern Tuscaloosa County. Once commonplace along the highways and byways of the state, iron and steel truss bridges are rapidly disappearing. These bridges are being replaced with new structures because they are often structurally deteriorated and no longer wide enough or able to handle the weight of modern traffic. While these new bridges offer improved safety and utility, they rarely possess the picturesque character and visual qualities exhibited by the historic iron and steel truss bridges they replace.
By the late nineteenth century, the technology for producing iron, and later steel, truss bridges made them an attractive and relatively inexpensive alternative to wood and stone for highway and railroad bridge construction. By the 1940s, however, advancements in reinforced concrete technology made concrete a more cost-effective alternative and the use of iron and steel trusses declined rapidly. Today, the preservation of historic iron and steel truss bridges is often hampered by their lack of usefulness. Alternatives to demolition include the continued maintenance and service of active bridges that continue to be usable. Other bridges can be adapted as pedestrian bridges and fishing piers.
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