Thomas Bridge, Bluff City, TN

The Thomas Bridge is the oldest highway steel truss bridges still standing in upper East Tennessee.

Built in 1898 by the New Columbus Bridge Company of Columbus, Ohio, the Thomas Bridge crossing Beaver Creek in Sullivan County is a single-lane, Pratt steel through truss. It sits on two masonry abutments at the end of Old Thomas Bridge Road between Bluff City and Blountville, TN.

The span has pin-connected "eye bars" for stability (common to that time period) and is 171 feet long. The truss span also has decorative lace portals at either end.

At one point, the Thomas Bridge carried State Route 37 from Bluff City to Blountville. It was closed in 1971 when the new Highway 37 connector was built (now State Route 394) and a new steel stringer replacement bridge was built just up the creek. Although the Thomas Bridge deck is partially collapsed, the trusses are intact.

The historic Thomas Bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.