Bahia Honda Rail Bridge

The Bahia Honda railroad bridge was originally built by Henry Flagler as part of the FEC's Overseas Railroad. Opened in 1912, Flagler funded the railway construction between Miami and Key West using his own personal funds. Rather than rebuilding the bridge, the top of the structure was redecked for use as the Overseas Highway (the existing deck inside the truss was too narrow for vehicular traffic). A new four-lane bridge was built and opened in 1972, a few hundred yards north of the old bridge, The original bridge has fallen into a state of disrepair; signs have been posted on the bridge warning boat traffic to watch for falling debris, but all of the sections have remained standing (not counting the two that were removed). The easternmost section remains open to pedestrian traffic and is maintained by Bahia Honda State Park. The bridge provides a scenic overview of the area for tourists. ==Structural design==

Before being reused as a highway bridge, the Bahia Honda Rail Bridge carried a single track of FEC across Big Spanish Channel from Bahia Honda Key to Spanish Harbor Key. Unlike other bridges on the Overseas Railway, the Bahia Honda has a steel truss construction. This was a necessary difference from the predominant concrete arch form of the other bridges of the Overseas Railroad, as the channel is the deepest of those spanned, at . The central span is a Parker truss with a span of . This is surrounded by 13 Pratt truss sections spanning on either side, and 13 smaller Pratt trusses each spanning outside those. Nine plate girder sections were used for the western approach, for a total length of . The smaller Pratt trusses have riveted connections, but the larger Pratt and Parker trusses use pinned connections, making the Bahia Honda Rail Bridge the longest pin-connected truss bridge in the U.S. The original construction of the bridge was carried out by William Krome and Joseph Meredith, and the vehicular conversion was undertaken by B.M. Duncan. ==Gallery==

File:Parker deck-trussed span of Bahia Honda Rail Bridge.jpg|Parker deck-trussed span File:Bahia Honda Rail Bridge.jpg|Bridge seen from Spanish Harbor Key File:Old Bahia Honda Rail Bridge.jpeg|View underneath at Bahia Honda Key File:Plate girder sections of Bahia Honda Rail Bridge.jpg|Plate girder sections on Spanish Harbor Key side File:Bahia Honda Bridge roadway.jpg|View from the bridge in 1961 File:Overseas Highway and Railroad Bridge.jpg|Aerial view, with the modern bridge in the background ==See also==