It carried Van Wyck Lane over Claverack Creek, but is now closed to all traffic, even pedestrians.
It is the only extant "double" Whipple bowstring truss bridge in the U.S., having two identical spans placed in series over a common pier.
[1] Structurally, the bridge is a bowstring tied arch, regarded as a "double-span" for its two separate yet identical spans supported by end abutments and a center pier of mortared cut limestone blocks.
Its upper chords are segmental arches of nine tangential iron castings with their bearing surfaces joined at each panel point.
In 1870, Van Wyck Lane was part of the Albany Post Road and the major route through Claverack.
Whipple's iron-truss designs had been adopted as the standard bridge type on the Erie Canal; the state may well have decided to use them on highways as well.