In most parts of the country, it’s difficult to travel anywhere by foot, car, train, or boat, without encountering a bridge of some sort. Yet time and use create wear and tear on bridges, modes of transport evolve, and industry and technology can reshape landscapes. As a result, historic bridges are falling into disrepair and disuse across the country.

But these bridges still have a chance, thanks to Section 106 of the National Preservation Act, which requires federal and state agencies to consider alternatives to demolishing historic properties through rehabilitation or reuse. Additionally, if a bridge is unable to be preserved, the Federal Highway Administration mandates bridges to be marketed for purchase by an individual, public or private organization, or other government entity to then determine a preservation solution.

Kara Russell helps to run the Bridge Marketing Program for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and she says there are so many bridges in need of preservation that managing bridge inventory could be a full time job. In the last decade, they’ve sold eight bridges to interested parties.

“If we find a way to do this more successfully, more frequently, it’s a win-win for everybody,” Russell says. “A lot of the success is due to the sheer tenacity of some people who want to see bridges saved.”

Bridge preservationists freely acknowledge the hard work and persistence required for their work. Funding issues, local and state politics, engineering and technology, and lack of awareness all can make for a challenging undertaking.

Julie Bowers runs Workin’ Bridges, a nonprofit based in Iowa that takes on bridge rehab/reuse projects around the country.

“There has been a learning curve in terms of bringing people up to speed with historic bridges being competitive with new steel bridges,” she says. “We will take on projects and help cover the cost of a site visit. Whether it stays in place or is moved, or replaced, they all have a commonality to the stories behind them. These bridges really did mean a lot to people.”

Bowers’ approach to bridge preservation is a collaboration between craftsman and engineer; she’s worked on several projects with Bach Steel. “We try to keep the cost down by not indulging in extensive studies when we just need to determine if a bridge can be saved,” she says.

In Schenectady, New York, architect Kristin Diotte of Re4orm Architecture has another perspective on historic bridge reuse. She created Operation Railbridge in 2015, a small group of preservationists, artists, and architects interested in reimagining railroad underpasses in the area as public media and art installations.

“I believe these spaces are such a distinct part of Schenectady's history and they offer a unique opportunity to showcase that history,” Diotte says. “I've always been interested in the interstitial spaces that connect, disconnect, or provide relief between neighborhoods within cities, the design blindspots.”

Diotte was inspired when she witnessed a former train station support space being filled with cement and wished there had been an alternative solution to using the space. Through Operation Railbridge, she hopes to create a template for designers and artisans to treat underutilized underpasses and spaces with functional and sensual signage, mapping, and wayfinding.

Everyone involved with bridge preservation seem to agree on one thing—it can be a very time-consuming and expensive process, even for the smallest bridges that no one seems to want. But that doesn’t deter people like Julie Bowers.

“We don’t stop at the first solution,” she says. “Sometimes it’s the third or fourth one. We’re starting to make a difference.”