Mill Road Phantom Bridge, Gettysburg, Ohio

This steel through truss bridge was constructed in 1881 for $2,968.10 by the Massillon Bridge Company of Massillon, Ohio. The bridge is 137 feet long and spans Greenville Creek.

The bridge features portal bracing which are basically pipes cut to size and arranged as a truss. The underside of the bridge features fishbelly floorbeams while the superstructure of the bridge rests on two massive stone bridge abutments.

The bridge floor was replaced in 1979 with the entire bridge rehabbed from 1996-1997. The bridge was rehabbed again in 2012 featuring a new wooden floor with an asphalt surface. New guardrails were installed at both ends of the bridge and the stone bridge abutments were re-mortered.

Shortly after this work was completed the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and repurposed as a pedestrian bridge serving hikers and bicyclists in the area.

In 1831 John Reck built a grist mill several hundred yards southwest of where this bridge is now located. In the past this bridge has sometimes been referred to as Reck’s Mill Bridge.