Melan Bridge

Photos 

< Previous   (1 of 11)   Next >

Side view from north Photo taken by Jason Smith

< Previous   (2 of 11)   Next >

Oblique view from southwest Photo taken by Jason Smith

< Previous   (3 of 11)   Next >

Deck view Photo taken by Jason Smith

< Previous   (4 of 11)   Next >

Underneath Photo taken by Jason Smith

< Previous   (5 of 11)   Next >

Close-up of metal bar Photo taken by Jason Smith

< Previous   (6 of 11)   Next >

Monument Photo taken by Jason Smith

< Previous   (7 of 11)   Next >

Elevation From South "One of the first reinforced concrete bridges built in the United States, it is located in Lyon County, 4-1/2 miles southeast of Rock Rapids, Iowa. It was built in 1893 by Frederick Von Emberger, famous Austrian designer, who was at that time the official representative of Joseph Melan, Vienese engineer. Melan was granted an American patent for his method of bridge reinforcement using concrete. The span is thirty feet. The rise of the arch is three feet and the roadway sixteen feet. The thickness of the arch at the crown is six inches. The reinforcing is of the style known as the Melan System and, in this case, consists of five 4" I-beams. The side walls are faced with Sioux Falls jasper. The hand rail is of gas pipe. The cement used was imported from Germany and cost $3.25 per barrel. The mixture of one part cement to two parts sand to four part broken jasper. The bridge cost $830.00." Jean P. Yearby, HAER, 1984 Photo by Joe Elliott, Summer 1995, for HAER View photos at Library of Congress

< Previous   (8 of 11)   Next >

Barrel View From West Photo by Joe Elliott, Summer 1995, for HAER View photos at Library of Congress

< Previous   (9 of 11)   Next >

3/4 View From Southwest Photo by Joe Elliott, Summer 1995, for HAER View photos at Library of Congress

< Previous   (10 of 11)   Next >

Detail Of Southwest Corner, From Southeast Photo by Joe Elliott, Summer 1995, for HAER View photos at Library of Congress

< Previous   (11 of 11)   Next >

Detail Of Builders Plate, From North While there is no evidence that the bridge was reconstructed in 1915, this builder's plaque does indicate that some work may have been performed on the bridge in 1915. Of course, someone may have just mounted this plaque on the bridge - who knows? Paul N. Kingsley also constructed the Tama Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tama, Tama County, Iowa. Photo by Joe Elliott, Summer 1995, for HAER View photos at Library of Congress

Map 

Sgnificance of the Melan Bridge 

Constructed in 1894, the Melan Arch Bridge marks the first experiment in using the innovative concrete-steel system developed by Austrian Josef Melan. At the urging of a Midwestern contractor, Frederick von Emperger, Melan's representative in America, [von Emperger] designed a 30 foot concrete arch reinforced with structural steel to span a seasonal stream outside of the small town of Rock Rapds in Northwest Iowa.

Although von Emperger's specifications called for 4" I-beams, bent to the elliptical shape of the arch and spaced at 3' intervals, local legend holds that the contractor reinforced the structure with railroad rails to spare expense.

Von Emperger went on to designing several more arches in the United Stats, all with dimensions more impressive than this first modest venture. However, the Rock Rapids bridge remains his most significant work, and the Melan system he introduced there, was adopted widely during the first part of the Twentieth Century for the highway brdges and pedestrian spans.

Facts 

Overview

Reinforced concrete arch bridge within Emma Sater Park near Rock Rapids, just off IA 9

Location

Lyon County, Iowa

Status

Open to pedestrians only

History

Built 1894 under the direction of Frederick von Emperger; relocated 1964

Builders

- Frederick von Emperger (Designer)
- John Olsen (Builder)
- Josef Melan (Inventor)
- W.S. Hewett (Contractor)

Design

Closed-spandrel arch

Dimensions

Span length: 30.0 ft.
Total length: 30.0 ft.
Deck width: 16.0 ft.

Recognition

Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on October 18, 1974

Approximate latitude, longitude

+43.43022, -96.15553   (decimal degrees)
43°25'49" N, 96°09'20" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

14/730229/4812522 (zone/easting/northing)

Land survey

T. 99 N., R. 45 W., Sec. 4

USGS topographic map

Rock Rapids

Inventory numbers

NRHP 74000797 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 13931 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Update Log 

• September 10, 2008: Essay added by J.R. Manning
• September 26, 2005: Posted photos from Jason Smith

Sources 

• HAER IA-15 - Melan Arch Bridge
• Historic Bridges of Iowa
• Jason Smith - JDSmith77 [at] gmx [dot] net
• J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net

Comments