Civil engineering student uses modern tests to demonstrate soundness of old iron bridge

An unusual bowstring truss iron bridge that carried traffic across Roaring Run in Bedford County, Va. for almost 100 years is now a picturesque footbridge at the Interstate 81 Ironto, Va., rest stop. Built in 1878, it is the oldest standing metal bridge in Virginia. In early December 2009, a Virginia Tech undergraduate conducted a load-bearing analysis of the structure.