User:Melofors/bridge2

An unnamed truss bridge carries Old Frederick Road across the Patapsco River between Baltimore County and Howard County, in Maryland, United States. Presumably first constructed in the mid-18th century when the road was first layed, the current bridge was constructed in 1934.

History
The bridge was presumably first constructed with the laying of the Old Frederick Road wagon trail sometime before 1760 by German settlers, after the founding of Frederick in 1745. The Ellicott brothers established the Upper Ellicott Mills in 1775 near the site of the bridge. In the 1790s, traffic became allocated to the newly built Frederick Turnpike three miles south of the road. The bridge appears in maps as early as 1794.

On February 14, 1817, an act was passed by the Maryland General Assembly to erect the bridge. The expense was divided between Baltimore and Anne Arundel County; Howard County did not exist at the time. A conflicting Maryland Gazette article gives the date as February 12, 1819.

In February 1857, the bridge was entirely swept away, costing several thousand dollars. An advertisement requesting bids to rebuild the bridge appeared on July 21, 1857, with the plans and specifications to be shown by "Mr. William Hollifield, living at the place." The bridge was rebuilt in early 1858 by William Timanus. On February 20, 1863, commissioners authorized repairs for the bridge including provisions for it to be covered. It was reported in 1935 that both Baltimore and Howard counties had been splitting repair costs for the bridge as early as 1858.

After the old bridge was destroyed in a storm in 1933, the current truss bridge was built in 1934 under the State Roads Commission as part of the Good Roads Movement. The style of the bridge can be found elsewhere as the design was highly standardized by the state. In 1935, there was a legal dispute between Baltimore and Howard County over the uneven allocation of the expense in Howard County's favor, as Baltimore County owned the strip of the river the bridge was on. It was ruled by the State Roads Commission that the cost be divided equally. The expense resulted in a deficit in Howard County's lateral road fund account. On September 23, 1937, Judge Parke ruled against the roads commission, holding that the bridge is not inter-county, and that Howard County should only pay for the abutments.

The bridge suffered damage from flooding from Hurricane Agnes in June 1972.

In 1978, the bridge as redecked, replacing the steel grating. Other minor repairs have been made to the concrete abutments. Beginning on February 18, 2002, the bridge was closed for two weeks for repairs in anticipation of major renovations in the summer. The bridge was closed from March 7 to December 18, 2005, in a $1 million rehabilitation replacing the deck with lightweight concrete and rebuilding its steel support structure, as well as cleaning and repainting.