Bryan Bridge

Bryan Bridge is an arched cantilever truss bridge connected in the center with a single pin and is the only one of its kind in the United States. Built in 1932 by the Department of Public Works and named by local citizens in honor of Governor Charles Wayland Bryan, it is 289 feet long, has a 24-foot roadway, and cost $55,564. It was designed by Josef Sorkin, who immigrated from Russia in 1923 and graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Engineering in 1929. This design was chosen because it was aesthetically compatible with the surrounding environment of the Niobrara River Valley. Bryan Bridge was selected as the “Most Beautiful Steel Bridge of 1932 in Class C” by the American Institute of Steel Construction and was the first bridge between Wisconsin and the Pacific Coast to receive such an award. In 1988 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1995 it was designated a State Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the Nebraska Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Nebraska · United States