My drive home from work takes me through the downtown of a rust belt city to a state road that passes through three small towns. The bridge that spans the first two was out of commission for a while, though, which meant I had an excuse to take a winding detour that passed over a one-lane truss bridge. I’ve driven over it for many years, but for the first time in my life, I had to stop and let someone else cross over first! I felt like a pioneer.
I’m no expert on truss bridges, but I consider myself a pontist -a bridge fan- nonetheless. One of my favorites is the High Banks Bridge between Yorktown and Daleville, Indiana. Completed in 1902 by Muncie’s Indiana Bridge Company, the crossing is 204 feet long with a main span of exactly 200 feet1. More than a century after it was built, the bridge is a survivor: its understructure was damaged by an overweight vehicle about fifty years ago2, but the bridge was repaired.
The High Banks Bridge has been lightly traveled ever since, but county officials sought public comment twenty years ago when they considered repairing it again, replacing it, or closing the crossing completely3. Fortunately, preservationists won out: the bridge was completely rehabilitated in 20094. What’s more is that its wooden decking was replaced with steel a couple of years ago.
I mostly cross the High Banks Bridge on weekends to find a pair of old flowing wells nearby. Despite all the improvements, passing over the crossing is an anachronism in today’s world. It’s a rare holdout from a slower, more deliberate time that defies our expectations of efficiency and speed. You can’t just breeze across the High Banks Bridge; cars have to slow to a crawl. If someone’s coming from the way your vehicle is pointed, you yield the right of way and wait your turn. That’s what I had to do for the first time the other day.
Idling west of the crossing was frustrating at first since the intersection was full and no one seemed to know what to do. Someone even honked! Still, the brief pause the one-lane crossing provided turned out to be just what I needed. My day had been busy -chaotic even- and sitting there reminded me to take a breath.
Not everything needs to be faster or more efficient. Some places, like the High Banks Bridge, mark time in the present by refusing to let go of the past. I savored the moment, but waiting my turn to cross the High Banks Bridge also felt like a holdover from the pioneer days.
It was almost like fording a creek! I tried to picture myself in a horse and buggy, but the supercharged Mercedes I was driving made that a bit of a stretch. Even so, just for a few seconds, the bridge pulled me out of my modern routine and placed me in a slower, simpler frame of mind.
The High Banks Bridge isn’t flashy or famous. It doesn’t demand attention. Like so many forgotten crossings and tucked-away places, though, it offers real perspective. It’s a reminder that history lingers underfoot everywhere, even on the drive home! Sometimes it shapes our paths. Other times, it slows our pace. Occasionally, it helps us see the world a little differently.
Sources Cited
1 High Banks Bridge (n.d.) Bridge Hunter. Web. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
2 Bridge Closed After Damage (1973, October 20). The Muncie Star. p. 13.
3 Slabaugh, S. (2006, April 28). Bridge built in 1902 could be closed permanently to traffic. The Muncie Star Press. p. 3.
4 Bad road, bridge to be rebuilt (2009, January 8). The Muncie Star Press. p. 42.
