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[danthecatrafficlightfan]

can't tell if this a ford or not.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7535353,-119.4517355,145m/data=!3m1!1e3

[froggie]

^ Looks to me (especially after looking at elevation on a topo map) like a bridge and not a ford.

[silverback1065]

fords don't have bridges, if it's a low bridge, it's a low water crossing.

[kphoger]

Go to 3D imagery, then rotate the map, and it doesn't look much like a ford at all.

[danthecatrafficlightfan]

fords don't have bridges, if it's a low bridge, it's a low water crossing.

thanks i'll try to remember that next time.

[inkyatari]

Don't know if this bridge counts..  It only serves a grain elevator these days, but during periods of bad rain, I have seen it flooded..

https://goo.gl/maps/sGEdHg1iGM22

[danthecatrafficlightfan]

Don't know if this bridge counts..  It only serves a grain elevator these days, but during periods of bad rain, I have seen it flooded..

https://goo.gl/maps/sGEdHg1iGM22

nope but nice find as it appears that it is abandoned!

[inkyatari]

Don't know if this bridge counts..  It only serves a grain elevator these days, but during periods of bad rain, I have seen it flooded..

https://goo.gl/maps/sGEdHg1iGM22

nope but nice find as it appears that it is abandoned!

Looks like the grain elevator it served is itself abandoned.  This used to be the main drag into Lockport, IL at one time, but was replaced with a high level bridge in the early 70's

[SteveG1988]

Don't know if this bridge counts..  It only serves a grain elevator these days, but during periods of bad rain, I have seen it flooded..

https://goo.gl/maps/sGEdHg1iGM22

nope but nice find as it appears that it is abandoned!

Looks like the grain elevator it served is itself abandoned.  This used to be the main drag into Lockport, IL at one time, but was replaced with a high level bridge in the early 70's

I've seen that from the truck, yeah it's abandoned. It seems that they may keep the bridge around for accessing the power lines.

[rte66man]

I found this one on a recent field trip in central TExas:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.219931,-96.597083,794m/data=!3m1!1e3

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2202431,-96.5972077,3a,75y,214.18h,68.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saUX6N2MpUPwrWXWxC_Rw5w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

What made this interesting to me is this was an early route of US75 north of Corsicana. 

[ErmineNotyours]

Found one in Arizona: https://goo.gl/maps/1m8ub9hHtBVnPLDQ6

[kphoger]

Found one in Arizona: https://goo.gl/maps/1m8ub9hHtBVnPLDQ6

If memory serves me well from my time down that way years ago, that's not very uncommon there.

[Max Rockatansky]

Found one in Arizona: https://goo.gl/maps/1m8ub9hHtBVnPLDQ6

If memory serves me well from my time down that way years ago, that's not very uncommon there.

They are very common in Arizona over dry washes.  You can find them in places all throughout metro Phoenix.  Off the top of my head there was a several in neighborhood I lived in Scottsdale.  AZ 88 has a couple of them, one notable example being at Tortilla Flat just before the pavement ends. 

[MCRoads]

My mom’s home town has several low-level bridges over what are basically a glorified drainage ditch. If it rains for more than 12 hours, there is a good chance the roads might flood. My grandfather went out to get something across the river. For whatever reason, his tire decided to go flat. In the time it took him to change the tire, the road had started to flood. He was stuck there for a bit while the river calmed down. My grandfather tells y’all tails though, so I take it with a grain of salt.

[Bitmapped]

In West Virginia, there are some lightly traveled county routes (mostly those that dead end) that ford creeks. These crossings always seem to just use the natural creek bed.

Low water crossings are more common. One of the more prominent examples is in Dickenson Mountain Road, just off US 220, at Franklin: https://goo.gl/maps/nEUhkeYBewkaFUox5 Morgantown has the "Subterranean Bridge" over Deckers Creek: https://goo.gl/maps/MaxyDH82vw6JxaN59

I don't think I've seen any permanent gates installed at any WV low water crossings. Normally, barrels or sawhorses will be set up if the crossing is closed.

[Max Rockatansky]

I noticed that Avenue of the Giants had two that branched off towards the South Fork Eel River a couple weeks ago.  I should have crossed the one on Helm’s Flat Road had I had my wits about me.

[index]

In West Virginia, there are some lightly traveled county routes (mostly those that dead end) that ford creeks. These crossings always seem to just use the natural creek bed.

Low water crossings are more common. One of the more prominent examples is in Dickenson Mountain Road, just off US 220, at Franklin: https://goo.gl/maps/nEUhkeYBewkaFUox5 Morgantown has the "Subterranean Bridge" over Deckers Creek: https://goo.gl/maps/MaxyDH82vw6JxaN59

I don't think I've seen any permanent gates installed at any WV low water crossings. Normally, barrels or sawhorses will be set up if the crossing is closed.

That first one has transverse grooving on the surface. That's actually pretty rare for a bridge like that. The number of examples you could find in the US of a grooved one-lane bridge is probably either in the single digits or very low if not the former, and it's probably the only grooved low water bridge in the whole country. Not a very interesting statistic but felt like pointing it out nonetheless, although to be fair this forum is like, the capital of useless statistics.

[Dirt Roads]

Back in college, a friend wanted me to go with him to Mountain Lake (one of only two natural lakes in Virginia) and then over the mountain to the border-locked town of Waiteville, West Virginia.  On the way down Mountain Lake Road on the back side, we came to a ford with high water (about 2 feet).  The road was freshly graveled with #2 rock, which is difficult to run in water at any depth.  He insisted that we keep going, so I tried to get him to let me drive.  (Also reminded him that this was probably one of several).  Instead, we got knee-deep and he stopped.  Then I had to get out and switch with him.  It was about 30^oF outside, and the water wasn't much warmer.  We got out OK, and of course the water was deeper at the next ford.  In all, there were three fords on the way down.  IIRC, it was a 1972 Chevy Nova.

Looking at the map, these fords were on different creeks.  Quite frankly, I was worried that we were going to cross the same creek numerous times, each time getting deeper (as is common on the West Virginia side).

[deathtopumpkins]

It is not streetviewed, but one ford I went through regularly when growing up was on one of the NPS tour roads at Yorktown battlefield. The spur road to Washington's Headquarters crosses a small tributary of Beaverdam Creek via an unpaved ford, roughly here: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2029371,-76.530907,299m/data=!3m1!1e3

[Max Rockatansky]

The dirt segment of Panoche Road and the ford over Panoche Creek:

IMG_1824 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

This was actually signed as CA 180 for a time but never was state maintained.

[kphoger]

This reservoir spillway ford has received enough flooding that the pavement is now in pretty rough shape.  I've only driven across it while it was covered with water one time.  Since then, though, I've become increasingly glad to be able to see the road surface because of all the dislodged rocks and chunks of concrete, potholes, and ruts.

[Tom958]

Here's a nice one near Austin, just downstream of Mansfield Dam. Between the high and low bridges and the dam, I took a lot of photos around here.

[Max Rockatansky]

The two fords of Warthan Creek on the Parkfield Grade west of Coalinga:

IMG_3350 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_3351 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_3353 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_3355 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[ErmineNotyours]

Does this count?  Ice surface road from Yellowknife to Dettah, Northwest Territories:

Winter
Summer

[1995hoo]

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in another thread, but there’s a ford (the Beaverdam Ford) on Jeb Stuart Road in Loudoun County, Virginia, but there’s no Street View of it and I haven’t found any good images online. I’ve never driven through it—the time I discovered there was a ford I was heading north on St. Louis Road (the only time to date I’ve used said road) and I saw the sign around the corner warning of a ford just a little too late. Meanwhile, there is no sign at the intersection on the nearby Snickersville Turnpike, a road I’ve used more often.

Ford location:
https://goo.gl/maps/sReNRK8JStrTtZM6A

Street View showing sign warning of ford ahead (you may have to pan the image since the link is from the Google Maps app):
https://goo.gl/maps/ZHq23WXGiPqkrzbdA


Edited to add—A Google search turned up an image this time: http://wikimapia.org/14763484/Beaverdam-Ford  Hard to tell how deep the water is in that particular image, so I don’t know whether I’d drive through it in that situation in any of our current cars.