Originally Posted by Rusty Traque:
I'm pretty sure that unless the Santa Fe lifted the bridge sections away with a Zeppelin, the Kaw River bridge was probably doomed in that 1951 flood.
Rusty
That's a pretty low bridge - lots of examples of those washing out. If the bridge spans a deep gouge, different story. See the Kate Shelly bridge below (which I've crossed). Quite a view! Rather extreme example, but the subject ravine in Colorado appears deep enough that a bridge could span floodwaters successfully. Perhaps a design like the second picture. Something more modest. But I'm not an engineer (of either kind!).