Bridgehunter.com | Adel Bridge

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Photo taken by Jason Smith in August 2011

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Description

Located as it is on the North Raccoon River, Adel, the Dallas County seat, was the site of one of the county's earliest river crossings. A ferry was first established at the eastern outskirts of town in March 1850--three years after the town's platting--to provide safe passage across the river during periods of high water. The county later contracted with local bridge builder Johnathan Peppard to construct a timber structure at this point that would carry the Waukee Road. However, this early span had deteriorated to the point of replacement by the early 1880s. In June 1882 the Dallas County Board of Supervisors received a citizens' petition for a replacement bridge. The board studied the request, solicited competitive proposals from several bridge companies, and in September awarded a contract to fabricate and erect a two-span wrought iron truss to the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company for $12,500. The Cleveland, Ohio firm used wrought iron components rolled by the Carnegie mills in Pittsburgh to fabricate these medium-span Pratt through trusses, using a King standard Pratt configuration. The company erected the trusses on steel cylinder piers later that year. The Adel Bridge has carried vehicular traffic since, although due to the construction of a new highway bridge in 1932, it has been relegated to secondary road status. The trusses and two of the three cylinder piers remain intact, but the approach spans on the bridge's east end and one of the piers have subsequently been replaced. From the early 1880s until the establishment of state bridge standards in 1913, the pin-connected Pratt through truss was virtually the exclusive structural type for medium-span roadway crossings in Iowa. Its standardized fabrication, economy of materials and ease of erection made it a mainstay among the various state and regional bridge companies. Thousands of such trusses were built throughout the state during this period, and numerous examples remain in place today. The Adel Bridge is noteworthy as among the oldest remaining Pratt trusses in Iowa. It is also important for its two-span configuration. Although many multiple-span trusses were erected in Iowa in the late 19th century, almost all have subsequently been demolished. The Adel Bridge is thus a well-preserved, early remnant of early wagon truss construction - a regionally important crossing of a major river [adapted from Fraser 1991].

Facts

Overview: Two-span through truss bridge over North Raccoon River on River Street in Adel
Location: Adel, Dallas County, Iowa
Status: Closed to all traffic
History: Built 1882 by the King Bridge Co.
Builder: - King Bridge Co. of Cleveland, Ohio
Design: Pratt through truss
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 148.0 ft.
Total length: 390.1 ft.
Deck width: 15.7 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.6 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on April 18, 2002
Approximate latitude, longitude: +41.61585, -94.01287 (decimal degrees)
41°36'57" N, 94°00'46" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 15/415613/4607620 (zone/easting/northing)
Land survey: T. 79 N., R. 27 W., Sec. 29
USGS topographic map: Adel
Inventory numbers: NRHP 02000374 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
IA 131670 (Iowa bridge number)
BH 13286 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 03/2006): Deck condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 19.6 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 1996): 180

Update Log

March 15, 2013: Updated by John Marvig: Added city
November 11, 2012: New photos from John Marvig
March 23, 2012: Photo imported by Luke Harden
August 17, 2011: New photos from Jason Smith
August 16, 2011: New photos from Jason Smith
August 16, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: Updated status
July 30, 2010: New Street View added by Jason Smith

Sources

Jason Smith - JDSmith77 [at] gmx [dot] net
Luke Harden - lukemh9 [at] gmail [dot] com
John Marvig - johnmarvig [at] chaska [dot] net

Comments

Adel Bridge

Posted June 27, 2010, by Dave Darby (dwdarby [at] aol [dot] com)

This bridge is the original crossing of the River to River Road, the Detroit Lincoln Denver Highway, US 32, and for the the first few months, US 6 (America's longest highway).

Dave Darby

Executive Director Iowa Division

Route 6 Tourist Association

www.route6tour.com