{"nrhp_refnum":"04000954","name":"Ruhle Road Lenticular Metal Truss Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Ruhle Rd over Ballston Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Malta","county":"Saratoga County","state":"NY","lat":42.95836677500006,"lon":-73.81679301699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":[],"significance_levels":[],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span, pin-connected lenticular metal pony truss bridge carrying Ruhle Road over Ballston Creek in Malta, Saratoga County, New York. It was built in 1888 in Salem, Washington County, and re-erected at Malta in 2001.","why_significant":"The bridge is significant under Criteria A and C as a rare, substantially intact example of small metal truss bridge design by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Connecticut, using William O. Douglas's patented lenticular truss. It is one of about 13 known surviving lenticular spans in New York State. It also reflects rural transportation history in the late nineteenth century.","narrative":"This 51-foot-7-inch pin-connected pony truss bridge carries a trail over Ballston Creek on Ruhle Road in Malta, Saratoga County. It was built in 1888 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Connecticut, for a road over Black Creek in Salem, Washington County, using the lenticular truss patented by William O. Douglas. After the span was removed from service in 1990, it was stored by Washington County. Malta later accepted it to replace the Ruhle Road stone arch bridge, which collapsed in a 1993 flood. The truss was disassembled, moved about 30 miles in 2001, and re-erected on new abutments faced with stone salvaged from the earlier bridge. It opened to foot and bicycle traffic in August 2002. The bridge is significant as one of roughly 13 surviving lenticular spans in New York and as an intact example of a prolific nineteenth-century bridge manufacturer's work. It retains its original plaque and its design, materials and workmanship.","period_of_significance":"1888","architect_builder":"Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Connecticut (lenticular truss patented by William O. Douglas)","architectural_style":"No style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"In use as a pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle crossing on a park trail; maintained by the town of Malta.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.365514-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/04000954.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000954/1a7c09d23f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000954/1a7c09d23f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Adamlouismarre","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhule_Road_Lenticular_Truss_Bridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Adamlouismarre</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhule_Road_Lenticular_Truss_Bridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321619","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhle_Road_Lenticular_Metal_Truss_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7378664"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/saratoga-county/ruhle-road-lenticular-metal-truss-bridge-04000954/"}