Rating:
6 votes

Durow Road Bridge

Linn County, Iowa
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Durow Road Bridge from the South

This bridge looks impressive sitting out in the open prairie on an unpaved rural road 18 miles north of Cedar Rapids, IA.

Photo taken by Quinn Phelan in December 2008

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Map 

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Through truss bridge over Blue Creek on Durow Road
Location
Linn County, Iowa
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built in the 1920s at a location 20 miles south of its present spot; relocated here in 1949 to replace a wooden stringer; rehabilitated 1989
Design
Riveted, 8-panel Parker through truss
Dimensions
Span length: 160.1 ft.
Total length: 160.1 ft.
Deck width: 19.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 13.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.21886, -91.82318   (decimal degrees)
42°13'08" N, 91°49'23" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/597127/4674747 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Center Point
Land survey
T. 86 N., R. 8 W., Sec. 31
Inventory numbers
IA 223450 (Iowa bridge number)
BH 13834 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 08/2014)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 48.7 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2013)
150

Categories 

8-panel truss (332)
A-frame portal (367)
Built 1949 (325)
Built during 1940s (3,344)
Functionally obsolete (7,698)
Iowa (5,379)
Linn County, Iowa (209)
Open (34,481)
 Owned by county (18,057)
Painted red (48)
Parker through truss (1,111)
Parker truss (1,459)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,573)
Through truss (12,273)
Total length 125-175 feet (4,940)
Truss (28,161)

Update Log 

  • April 18, 2015: Updated by Dave King: Added category "A-frame portal"
  • March 16, 2014: New photo from Luke Harden
  • July 1, 2013: New photos from Dave King
  • May 11, 2013: New photos from Dave King
  • September 2, 2011: Updated by Jason Smith: Updated the bridge's history in addition to adding some photos
  • August 12, 2011: New photo from Quinn Phelan
  • December 14, 2008: New photos from Quinn Phelan

Sources 

  • Quinn Phelan - qphelan [at] earthlink [dot] net
  • Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
  • Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Luke
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Comments 

Durow Road Bridge
Posted March 16, 2014, by David Sebben (nebbes61 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

A black and white photo colorized of the Durow Road Bridge.

Durow Road Bridge
Posted December 17, 2008, by Gene McCluney (mccluney [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

There was, it looks like a wood trestle bridge there prior to the current metal truss bridge. The metal truss bridge might be older and was moved here, when a road elsewhere outgrew the capacity of the bridge.

Durow Road Bridge
Posted December 17, 2008, by qphelan (qphelan [at] earthlink [dot] net)

Note in the 5th picture the pilings from the previous bridge deteriorating below the current bridge.

Durow Road Bridge
Posted December 15, 2008, by Gene McCluney (mccluney [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

Generally speaking, depending on your state road budget, and the average daily traffic over a particular bridge, they are inspected every 2 to 3 years. A lot can happen to a wooden deck in that length of time.

Durow Road Bridge
Posted December 15, 2008, by Quinn Phelan (qphelan [at] earthlink [dot] net)

Yes, it was scary driving over this bridge in a 2 ton pickup truck. If just painting it qualifies for upkeep - someone needs to examine the deck alot closer during the next inspection !

Durow Road Bridge
Posted December 14, 2008, by Gene McCluney (mccluney [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

It appears that this bridge was actually (gasp) painted within the last decade. That indicates maintenance, which would allow for a load rating close to original design.