{"nrhp_refnum":"09000728","name":"Crab Run Lane Truss Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"VA 645 over Crab Run","address_restricted":false,"city":"McDowell","county":"Highland County","state":"VA","lat":38.335028074000036,"lon":-79.48964840199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-09-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span, four-panel pony truss bridge built in 1896 that carries State Route 645 over Crab Run near McDowell, Highland County, Virginia. It is made largely from bent and straight steel railroad rails.","why_significant":"The bridge embodies the patented Lane truss design, an unusual configuration built from rails and tie rods. It is the only surviving example of this configuration in Virginia, giving it statewide significance in engineering. It retains its original materials, design and workmanship.","narrative":"Crab Run Lane Truss Bridge spans Crab Run on State Route 645 near McDowell in Highland County, Virginia. Built in 1896 by the West Virginia Bridge Works of Wheeling, it is a 39-foot, four-panel pony truss. Its top chords and end posts are bent railroad or trolley rails stamped 'Cambria 1896', its bottom chords are straight rails, and its posts and diagonals are looped tie rods joined with U-bolts. The bridge follows a design patented by the Lane Bridge Company of Painted Post, New York, in 1894. It originally carried the Staunton to Parkersburg Turnpike over the stream. Only two Lane-type bridges are known to have existed in Virginia, and this is the sole survivor; the other, in Rockingham County, collapsed in the early 1970s. Because of structural weaknesses, vehicles were barred in 1994, and the bridge now serves pedestrians and cyclists. It was listed for its engineering significance and its surviving original materials, design and workmanship.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"West Virginia Bridge Works, Wheeling, West Virginia","architectural_style":"Other: Lane patent pony truss bridge","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Taken out of service for vehicular traffic in 1994 because of structural weaknesses; now carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The wood deck was replaced and guardrails added in 1994.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.718311-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/3/6813/41681303/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09000728.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000728/d4a729ab4f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000728/d4a729ab4f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bitmapped","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crab_Run_Lane_Truss_Bridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bitmapped</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:Crab_Run_Lane_Truss_Bridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681303","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Run_Lane_Truss_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712207"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/highland-county/crab-run-lane-truss-bridge-09000728/"}