Photos 

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Looking West

Photo taken by Quinn Phelan in January 2009

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Looking East

A beautiful elliptical arch.

Photo taken by Quinn Phelan in January 2009

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Deck

Two traffic lanes & seperated sidewalks.

Photo taken by Quinn Phelan in January 2009

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Minimalistic Railings

I wonder if these "simple" railings replaced older more decorative ones ?

Photo taken by Quinn Phelan in January 2009

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South Approach

Here is your first view of Iowa Falls coming from the south on Hwy 65.

Photo taken by Quinn Phelan in January 2009

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Map 

History Link 

National Parks Service Web Site

For a nice history of this bridge, go here...

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/hardin/ibr.htm

Facts 

Overview
Open-spandrel arch bridge over Iowa River on US 65 in Iowa Falls
Location
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, Iowa
Status
Open to traffic
Future prospects
Scheduled for replacement
History
Built 1928; rehabilitated 1967
Builder
- Welden Brothers Construction Co.
Design
Open-spandrel arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 234.9 ft.
Total length: 254.9 ft.
Deck width: 24.0 ft.
Recognition
Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Also called
Oak Street Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.51786, -93.26286   (decimal degrees)
42°31'04" N, 93°15'46" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/478408/4707309 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Iowa Falls West
Inventory numbers
IA 27140 (Iowa bridge number)
BH 13578 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 07/2008)
Deck condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 4.0 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2007)
9,600

Update Log 

  • December 30, 2009: Updated by David Backlin: Added contractor
  • February 21, 2009: Essay added by Quinn Phelan
  • January 6, 2009: New photos from Quinn Phelan

Sources 

  • Quinn Phelan - qphelan [at] earthlink [dot] net
  • David Backlin - us71 [at] cox [dot] net

Comments 

Iowa River US 65 Bridge
Posted June 25, 2009, by Robert Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

I can't believe this - I drove my car over this bridge a few years ago and had no idea what was underneath!

Iowa River US 65 Bridge
Posted June 24, 2009, by Nathan Holth

According to a June 23rd 2009 communication with Iowa Department of Transportation, this bridge is to be demolished and replaced with a steel through arch "soon".