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this '64 Barracuda must have been the last car across
I believe that bridge was replaced in the middle to late 60's. My parents built a house in Saylorville in '65, and I remember riding over the truss bridge in a car for a few years before it was replaced.
Two more pinned Warren pony trusses:
Tony: The oldest known highway swing bridge in the country, Michigan's New Richmond Bridge, includes pin-connected Warren pony truss spans: http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=truss/57th/
There also is the Howellville Bridge: http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=pennsylvania/howellville/
Hmmm...is this a pinned Warren bedstead or a pinned Howe bedstead? Either way, it is lost.
With Matt on this one... A Pratt all the way.
Just out of curiosity... Does anyone know of any pinned Warren ponies out there anywhere? I would suspect that there were some built and just wonder if any remain. Being how rare that pinned Warren through's are, a pony would be very special.
This bridge is a cantelever deck plate girder bridge, with the suspended span hanging in about the middle third of the river crossing, nicely proportioned so you don't notice it except for the two expansion joints in the bridge deck and railings, and the hangers supporting the suspended span, visible on the sides of the bridge and largely covering the joints between cantelevers and the suspended span.
Very nice indeed! This is another case of "Pratt or Warren?", but the diagonals are both eyebar members, suggesting that they are in tension, so I classified it as a half-hip Pratt.
The abutment looks like it might be newer than 1895, which could suggest its a relocated bridge. However some of our farmland in Michigan has truss bridges on it that appear to have been placed for farmer use when the county put big drains in place, so sometimes I think farm bridges can be original.
Thanks Nathan. I really liked this bridge. Luckily a farmer drove by me on his tractor and knew who owned the property. I don't know if it was an old road that ran that way or if its just there as a field bridge.
Nice find!
As per Margot's comment, you should be doubly afraid when the photographer has prior experience using heavy equipment in demolition.
Just to be clear we were never able to raise the funds for the restoration of this bridge though we tried for a very long time. Selling as is is one option but it won't be cheap to use anywhere. I have tried my best and that's all I have to say about this one.
Update on the sale of the McIntyre Bowstring Arch Bridge:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.313008968810401.68428.312999115478053&type=3
Looks like they rehabbed away the railing and lampposts and added Jersey Barriers.
Yes, I like this one. I know it is relatively modern, but it is one that I would have added myself. It looks like a genuine open spandrel.
Some of the newer bridges on here make me glad that I have a supply of ginger. This bridge is not one of them.
Pretty sure the plaque is Clinton Bridge & Iron Works.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
I was wondering where I left that! ;-)
As per pic #8, the appearance of construction equipment near an abandoned bridge is never a good sign! Lol
Photo #7 is very beautiful for some reason. I think it's that the waterfall reflects the blue sky.
Very nice... And really only about 10 years out from historic status by my opinion.
I can't believe I actually like a "modern" reproduction.
I think I have the problem solved. This bridge was a Pratt half-hip pony truss bridge with pinned connections built in 1901 by the New Columbus Bridge Company of Columbus, OH. This according to a bridge survey conducted by Fraser Design in the 1990s. In either case, it's really sad that the bridge is gone by the floods.
That would be a great idea!
The following speaks for itself.
"Dear Julie,
I have been delegated to inform you that Larry Wilson has rescinded his support for your grant application. He became very concerned about the language requiring the county to agree to maintain the bridge for 20 years. With this year's floods, he is afraid that this could cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars. I replied that Julie's group has raised substantial money and has many people strongly supporting it and would not leave the county with such a burden. He was not convinced and so a resolution was passed to remove the county's support. If the grant comes through, the county will not accept it. I voted against but was out voted 2 to 1. Larry delegated me to inform you of these proceedings. I do so sadly. - Lamoyne Gaard
NSRGA doesn't understand how this came out of the blue without proper notice from Poweshiek County. How could they resolve and vote on an issue without our presence? Was it an agenda item? We believe that this is a knee jerk reaction to the crash of an oversize vehicle on the bridge in Washington last week, the county conservation board that didn't want us to do anything with that old bridge at Millgrove Access, an engineer that admits to not understanding truss bridges and the flooding.
With the recent flooding NSRGA was looking forward to getting into the area to survey the high waters and to assess the numbers with our engineer. Our numbers for reset had raised the bridge two feet, so while the flooding was concerning to us we could wait until the waters had receded and there seemed to be greater needs to the citizens than our project right now. Certainly no definite evaluation could be made while it was still so wet.
This TeAP (Transportation Enhancement Alternative Program) Grant for federal dollars was not a sure thing, but preliminary talks with the National Trust for Historic Preservation Insurance Company had begun because we were researching the insurance issue. NTHP Insurance Co began in 2004 and insures other historic projects with these kind of grant requirements, like 20 years of maintenance, were in progress. June 11 is the date the TeAP grantees will be announced. The money is competitive with only a million dollars available on a statewide base. Our regional planning area 6 declined to give out any opportunities for grants this year and provided NSRGA with their report just yesterday which defined their reasons.
NSRGA's primary donor, Marilyn Taylor Jordan of the McFarlin Family Foundation was contacted about this new roadblock immediately. She wrote from Shanghai: "Who is Larry Wilson? Can the board members and supporters write to him? I'm also concerned about the 20-year obligation, but the point is to secure the grant, then determine what is required to obtain the required coverage for the liability."
This project cost the county nothing to date.
Any questions can be directed to Julie Bowers, Executive Director of the NSRGA, at 641.260.1262.
Pratt, Parker, either way it just underscores the fact that we need more images on the ground. Our efforts should/shall continue. If not us, then who?
My eyes see a flat topped Pratt in the Bing view, but as Nathan pointed out it is difficult to make much out. Also, the wreckage appears to be a 1900-1910 vintage Pratt to me.
It looked more polygonal to my eyes.
/shrugs/
Please clarify. The collapsed bridge pictured appears to be a pin-connected pony truss bridge. Pin connected bridges are usually (or never?) polygonal Warrens, which also almost always date to after 1908, and usually after 1920. There is not enough detail in the Birds Eye View for me to see anything worthwhile. My guess is it was really a Pratt.
This bridge is not open to traffic. The road on each side of Beaver creek is marked as such, and the bridge is blocked at both ends. The deck seemed in reasonable condition, but the side wires were broken (Sept 2012)
It is a sweet find! Did you come across it by accident?
http://ames.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/future-sixth-street-bridge-photos
http://www.cityofames.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=12629
Why is it called Humpback Bridge? The aerial photo seems to show a flat pony truss.
Are there any pictures of the bridge while standing?
Sad to look at. The time lapse photos are archived here:
The bridge is now gone I'm sorry to say. The main problem is the people in town have only one way out, and only one way in. Can't find anything in reference to completion time. I can see that rebuilding even the simplest bridge is no easy assignment.
I was surprised that they posted a link so you can see them rebuilding it. Maybe with the cameras on them they will work faster for completion, couldn't hurt. Here is the link so you can watch them work.
For those who are interested, there will be a talk on the Motor Mill Bridge on Friday August 9 at 2:00pm at the bridge site. If interested in participating, please contact me before July 15th so that I can include you in the plans and the people there will know who will be there. Thank you!
JS
I still think the teeth and hash marks is a good idea. Truckers may pay attention then. Most of the time its college kids using moving trucks though.
Hm. Maybe gps needs a trucker app. Drivers could enter their truck height and load weight and gps would avoid sending them through low-clearance, low-weight bridges. Maybe too-narrow ones as well.
The truss appears to be
I swiped through the pictures at the top of that article. The second to last picture appears to show a truss bridge rising out of the floodwater. Anyone know what bridge that is?
Nope, not the same. Pity about the train derailing; I'd hoped to get my own three-generation shot on a pretty day. Maybe I'll get there to rubberneck the devastation.
Thank you for pointing out proof. I thought it was an overlooked duplicate listing.
Contact IaDOT
Destroyed by floodwaters 5-19-2013.
The "sinkhole" picture is actually where the bridge is no more.
One of the spans was relocated to Davis county, it has, according to the IDOT info, long since been replaced.
Precise location of the relocated bridge's location is unknown.
Two photos of this bridge in floodwater at this page:
This bridge is separate from the other bridge. This bridge still serves traffic, the other is flat out abandoned. For proof, look at the guard rails
Damn, you're lucky you shot these photos in March, John. Probably not much to see now.
Is this the same as the Abandoned Lincoln Highway West Beaver Creek Bridge? They seem awfully similar.
Is this the same as the Little Beaver Creek Lincoln Highway bridge?
"Got sheep?" Hee!
I grew up on Jewel drive and all the kids in the neighborhood would hang out down at the old bridge. I have recently moved back to the area and walk down there often. I was thinking about contacting the City about saving it and maybe adding a canoe access. Growing up we use to canoe through town and pull out there. Someone has put up a gate at the end of Ken Maril and the farmer puts a pad lock on it. That needs to be removed. It is a county road and should be open to the public.
Harry
.
Maybe she was listening to that Icona Pop song that's seemingly on all the airwaves. The lead singer doesn't care and crashes her car into the bridge to see what would happen. At least that's the lyrics that keep getting repeated. She doesn't care and she loves it.
Gentlemen, which brings me to my next point. Don't smoke crack.
Usually, when people hit structures over waterways intentionally, they tend to have a deathwish...
According to the article, the woman who hit the bridge did it on purpose...wonder what the motive was? Maybe she's a hit-woman hired by IowaDOT...
Apparently, someone hit this bridge with their car, broke a beam, and the damage was repaired.
Same county engineer as Poweshiek. Enough said.
I think that was the secret plan of Tama County: hire some banditos to purposely cut down a tree and have it land onto the bridge so that they can provide contractors with a head start on the demolition plan and justify reasons for demo-ing a National Register Landmark! Such a sad day indeed; esp. as I had this bridge on my list of bridges to visit during the HB Weekend in August.... :-(
Link: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2013/05/13/traer-bridge-to-be-replaced-by-loggers/
Well, it is in the inundated category already. If there is a submerged category, perhaps inundated and submerged should be merged.
Looks like it's going to the scrapper and they don't care about damage.
Unfortunately Mr. Manning, It would appear that this bridge's fate is what's locked...
I had a hunch that the trees being cut down might indicate upcoming construction, and unfortunately Google turned this up in a search (copied from the cached pdf):
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MAJOR ITEMS - PRELIMINARY QUANTITY REPORT
(for information only)
Proposed Letting Date: March 19, 2013 10:00 A.M.
Proposal ID: 86-7710-601
Proposed Contract Period: Late Start Date of 07/15/13 with 70 WORK DAYS
Project No: BROS-7710(601)--8J-86
Type of Work: BRIDGE REPLACEMENT - CCS
Route: MILL STREET Length: 0.10 miles
Location: IN THE CITY OF TRAER, OVER WOLF CREEK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantity/Unit
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEMS FOR A 130'-0 X 30'-0 CONTINUOUS CONCRETE SLAB BRIDGE
2102-2710070 EXCAVATION, CL 10, RDWY+BORROW 5,133 CY
2403-0100010 STRUCT CONC (BRIDGE) 421 CY
2404-7775000 REINFORC STEEL 81,889 LB
Hard to tell from the pictures but this looks like someone cutting trees dropped one on the bridge. Any info on what happened, who is responsible, future prospects?
I wonder if this bridge should be listed in the Submerged Category?
I found a source online that also referred to this bridge as the Four Mile Bridge, so I'm assuming this is the common name for it. I've edited the bridge's entry accordingly.
For a culvert it is mildly interesting. It appears original and over a century old, and the bell and spigot clay pipe is unusual.
Bridge was damaged this morning, and likley completely destroyed
http://raccoonvalleyradio.com/2013/05/train-derailment-east-of-grand-junction/
This is just like the bridge I found a couple years back, buried in the water of the Marion Reservoir by Marion, Kansas. Except that one I believe was a concrete culvert.
No way this was built 1860. I wonder who to contact to find out a real date...
Fascinating. Since this is called Curtis Bridge road, I assume the Curtis Bridge was located where the road ends at 41.807944,-91.646577.
From the photos and from Google Satellite view, the bridge appears to be open and in active use by "4-legged pedestrians" (cattle) to cross the creek.
I am currently leading a charge to save the last span of the bridge. I have heavy support from Des Moines historians, who either want it rehabbed as an overlook, or relocated. I have made a save the bridge page too. I think we can preserve the remaining history here.
https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheDSMRRBridge
Union Pacific trains roar many times daily under this bridge at well over 50+ mph before crossing the new concrete Kate Shelley High Bridge completed East of this bridge. I believe that this bridge is sometimes referred to as the "Humpback Bridge".
Photo taken Winter 2013.
The Iowa Interstate Railroad bridge also over Walnut Creek is located just North of the Grand Avenue Bridge. Photo taken April 2013.
Demo continues...
Demo continues....
Demo has started on the Grand Avenue Bridge over Walnut Creek
and Grand Avenue will be closed for the Summer of 2013.
This bridge is located just West of the Des Moines, Iowa/West Des Moines, Iowa dividing line of 63rd Street which is also regarded as 1st Street West Des Moines, Iowa. Photos taken Spring 2013.
March 2013
Old Rock Island logo barely visible on both the North and South sides of the bridge. March 2013.
Nice Find!
Picture of the replica spans from the organization's website: http://motormill.org/
Perhaps the crank bit was a mount for a USGS gauge?
A 2 to 1 vote moved the supervisors to sign off on a competitive grant for TAP funds. More will be revealed. The next hurdle is 20 years of maintenance and replacement if the bridge falls again. But with new metal and raising two feet we are confident.
This bridge was built in 1914 as the prototype for warren pony trusses in Iowa. We are looking at moving it to Grinnell to a park on a trail. IaDOT brought to our attention through the Carroll County engineer. There is one more coming out there on Robin Avenue. More info on the IaDoT historic bridge database.
The Milwaukee Road did a mass-abandonment in 1980, shedding off its entire Pacific Extension and also numerous lines in the Midwest. It was a desperate measure to shed off weaker lines and retreat to a financially solvent core system. Among the lines that were axed was the former E/W main across IA that went through Cedar Rapids. So the bridge was probably torn out within a short time following its 1980 abandonment date.
Took a best guess on bridge type based off of aerial imagery. Bridge may have been a through-truss, but image quality is too poor to tell.
It was built in 1905 and widened in 1912-13. The first bridge (1881-1905) across Cedar River was about a mile further south and the right-of-way sloped down the east side of the river. The grade and the piers can still can be seen today.
The bridge pictured here is on the UP line, not the DM&E. The DM&E Bridge is a pony truss. This one might be north of Algona.
Same truss design as UP ex RI bridge over Des Moines River in Des Moines. That one was built 1920 by American Bridge Company, and contains almost an identical design to this one (based off the limited truss views)
Anyone else think this one looks older than 1960s?
Probably lost to the MILW needing money in its last days. Steel has scrap value.
Was this bridge lost to flooding in 1985, or lost to "progress?"
I think some investigation and possibly review of this bridge's history is in order. I looked up old CB&Q system maps, and they do not show the line from Oskaloosa crossing at this point, but crossing at Tracy where the M&STL bridge was. I believe this bridge was a Rock Island bridge from the beginning. If you look at the 1930s aerial imagery, the line doesn't even go to Oskaloosa directly, but branches off the Rock Island's KD line northeast of town.
The CB&Q must've used the railroad bridge at Tracy, as the line joined the current day BNSF line to Des Moines here, and then went right into Knoxville. Some more research and review must be done on this bridge, too. I doubt the M&STL built the first Des Moines River bridge at Tracy. They probably simply shared trackage rights over the bridge with the CB&Q. The fact that the 2nd bridge at that location was built from pieces of a CB&Q bridge from Plattsmouth further hints to a direct connection with that railroad.
The fact that the given history of the CB&Q bridge doesn't jive with the bridge at Harvey further backs me up. Are they really referring to the first bridge at Tracy?
In addition to that, the date of 1878 is almost certainly incorrect. While it was not unusual for rail bridges to have been constructed of steel at this time, the portal style was commonly used by American Bridge Company and Lassig Bridge & Iron Works after 1885. It might not be impossible that it was built 1878, as all sources say it was, but I don't think that is the build date of the current bridge.
Very interesting, because this ties into some research I just did. The Rock Island built the second rail line that reached Knoxville in 1876, just one year after the CB&Q. I always wondered where the Rock Island bridge was. They must have decided it was better to tie into the CB&Q at some point and use their bridge, rather than building another one. The Rock Island might have retained use of the bridge longer than the Burlington did; they abandoned service in 1938, which is the exact year the bridge ceased being used for rail traffic.
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