Russell County’s Pucketts Hole Bridge, constructed in 1889, is likely the oldest remaining public bridge in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Bristol District, which encompasses more than 7,400 miles of roads in 12 counties, according to VDOT records. The steel Pratt through-truss structure, formerly known as Blackford Bridge, is an unusually old example of this type of bridge to have survived with its original design and materials still intact. The Blackford Bridge spans the Clinch River. Originally it served as a key link between the mountain towns of Blackford and Honaker, but in 1946 the Blackford Bridge was relocated—a common practice with bridges at that time—from Blackford to Pucketts Hole.