This little bridge is located two miles south of OK 51 east of Stillwater on 32nd Street. Built in 1910, this 41-foot long structure is of the so called 'bed frame' or 'bedstead' design, because of it being similar to an old-fashioned steel bed frame. The endposts are vertical and extend down bellow the bridge to form the foundations of the bridge.
This type of bridge, when built without approach spans as it is here, is very susceptible to collapse. These bridges are almost always built pin-connected, and the lower chords are not designed to take any compressive load. When built without approaches, wood planks are placed against the endposts to retain earth. Often the earth behind these planks pushes the endposts in towards the middle of the bridge, causing the lower chord to buckle and fail.
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