Lower Dillsboro Road Bridge, Dillsboro, Indiana

On Lower Dillsboro Road in Dearborn County, Indiana is a former county road bridge over South Hogan Creek. There’s not much information out there about the bridge but this is what I’ve pieced together.

Although I wasn’t able to find out when the bridge was constructed, another bridge here in Dearborn County with a very similar design was built in 1917 so I’m thinking this might fit into the age range for this bridge as well. The bridge was in use up until 1985 when the span was bypassed and a steel culvert was installed just 100 feet upstream.

When the bridge was in use, heading up Lower Dillsboro Road you had to make a sharp 90º turn to the right and then a sharp 90º turn to the left after crossing the bridge. I’m sure this had to be a nightmare for anyone driving anything larger than a pickup truck. The tight turns at either end of the bridge as well as its age probably had a lot to do with the span being bypassed in 1985.

Portions of the stone bridge abutments have been capped with concrete and a concrete pad sits directly under the bridge, probably to minimize the abutments from being washed out during floods. Since 1985 this bridge as served as the driveway for the house on the other side of the creek and will probably do just fine with that limited amount of traffic for years to come.

GPS Location: 39º02’33.9″N 84º58’34.9″W