Much to see here. They are preparing the area to widen the bridge on the main highway, 19E, on the left to about 6 lanes. We are at the Doe River at Valley Forge looking back toward Elizabethton. There was a 2 span steel deck girder bridge here with the original highway on the right. You can see the remains of the highway bridge. It's interesting to see how they built the highway bridge. It was a 2 arch bridge that had formed and poured concrete sides. That made a shell to fill with dirt. They then put some asphalt on top of the dirt and there was the bridge. Most of the old photos of the Valley Forge bridge were made from that highway bridge. The railroad bridge was much taller than the highway. In 1989, you could still drive over that bridge, it was a frontage road. In 1990, they widened the main highway bridge and removed and covered everything you see here. Unfortunately, the stone railroad bridge abutments disappeared along with everything else.

The Elizabethton end stone abutment can be seen along with the lower step where the bottom of the bridge rested (where the plants are growing on the abutment). The abutment on this side had already been removed except for a small section, and it was formed concrete, obviously added later.

This area has changed much in the years, first the railroad came through, then the highway in 1915, then the new main highway (not sure what year it was straightened and improved). I hate to see part of the ET vanish under the wrecking ball. When driving through this area now, one would never know anything had ever been here.