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West Auburn Bridge

Fayette County, Iowa
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Photos 

Barrel View From West

Photo by Joe Elliott, Summer 1995, for HAER

View photos at Library of Congress

Map 

Street View 

Facts 

Overview
Whipple through truss bridge over Little Turkey River on Bn Road near West Union
Location
Fayette County, Iowa
Status
Replaced by bridge on new alignment but left standing.Can be seen from the new bridge.
History
Built 1881; bypassed by a new bridge in 1996 but left standing.
Builder
- Horace E. Horton of Rochester, Minnesota
Design
Pin-connected Whipple through truss. (Whipple trusses were also called "double-intersected Pratt trusses.)

"[T]he west Auburn Bridge is one of only eight such structures known to exist in Iowa. The bridge has nine panels and is constructed of wrought iron. The truss has a 165' span, with a total bridge length of 181'. The bridge was designed by Horace Horton, an engineer based in Rochester, Minnesota, whose creative bridge designs, particularly for long spans, were well known in the Midwest."

Leslie Pinter, August 1995 for HAER

Dimensions
Length of largest span: 165.0 ft.
Total length: 181.0 ft.
Also called
Turkey River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+43.01603, -91.87856   (decimal degrees)
43°00'58" N, 91°52'43" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/591383/4763204 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
St. Lucas, Iowa UTM: 15.591380.4763020
Inventory number
BH 37326 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (3,822)
Abandoned (1,372)
Built 1881 (57)
Built during 1880s (1,045)
Fayette County, Iowa (56)
HAER documented (782)
Have street view (9,897)
Horace E. Horton (5)
Iowa (3,507)
 Laced endposts (72)
Owned by county (16,490)
Pin-connected (1,521)
Span length 125-175 feet (2,955)
Through truss (9,210)
Total length 175-250 feet (2,790)
Truss (23,574)
Whipple truss (155)
Wrought iron (225)

Update Log 

  • September 2, 2011: Updated by Jason Smith: This bridge still exists and can been seen from the new bridge. Accessible only on the east end through a dead end road.
  • July 20, 2011: Updated by Jason Smith: Corrected the GPS coordinates
  • February 17, 2011: New Street View added by Jason Smith
  • August 28, 2008: Added by J.R. Manning

Sources 

Comments 

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