Quarry Bridge
Description
The bridge over the Iowa River near the town of Quarry in Le Grand Township was one of Marshall County's oldest spans when it collapsed during late spring flooding in 1885. In June the board of supervisors hired the Wright Brothers, local contractors, to pull the wrecked structure from the river, and subsequently solicited competitive proposals from bridge companies for a replacement span. On July 1st the board awarded a construction contract to low-bidder King and Twiss of Des Moines for a 150-foot Whipple truss identical to the Stanley Mill Bridge, built by the county the year before. Using a superstructure fabricated by the King Iron Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio, the builders completed the bridge by September at a total cost of $3,295. The Quarry Bridge has carried traffic since, with the reconstruction of its north abutment with concrete the only major alteration of note. As Marshall County's oldest originally placed wagon bridge, the Quarry Bridge is historically significant as an early wagon crossing. The structure is further distinguished as a well-preserved example of the Whipple through truss. Basically a Pratt with diagonals that extend over two panels, the Whipple truss was seldom employed for wagon trusses in the state. Few were ever erected and fewer yet remain today. For its exceedingly rare use of wrought and cast iron components, its rare truss configuration, and its long-standing role in regional transportation, the Quarry Bridge is a significant early transportation-related resource [adapted from Fraser 1989].Facts
- Overview
- Through truss bridge over Iowa River on 3 Bridges Road
- Location
- Marshall County, Iowa
- Status
- Closed to all traffic
- History
- Built 1885
- Builders
- - King & Twiss of Des Moines, Iowa
- King Bridge Co. of Cleveland, Ohio
- Lackawanna Steel Co.
- Design
- Wrought iron, pin-connected Whipple through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 148.0 ft.
Total length: 149.9 ft.
Deck width: 16.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.2 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on May 15, 1998
- Also called
- Iowa River Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +42.02618, -92.80806 (decimal degrees)
42°01'34" N, 92°48'29" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/515889/4652700 (zone/easting/northing)
- Land survey
- T. 83 N., R. 17 W., Sec. 03
- USGS topographic map
- Le Grand
- Inventory numbers
- IA 242320 (Iowa bridge number)
NRHP 98000498 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 14018 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 04/2007)
- Deck condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 18.5 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2005)
- 100
Update Log
- September 4, 2012: Photo imported by Luke Harden
- September 3, 2012: Updated by Fmiser: Added wrought iron to description and categories
- August 15, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: corrected builder and added description
- September 2, 2010: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Added builder
- September 1, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Updated NRHP Listing
- February 20, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Updated bridge data
- January 26, 2008: New photos from J.R. Manning
Sources
- J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
- Historic Bridges of Iowa - Iowa River Wagon Bridge History
- Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Luke Harden - lukemh9 [at] gmail [dot] com
- Wikipedia
- Fmiser - fmiser [at] gmail [dot] com
Comments
Then I learned something too. Thanks Nathan. We were all correct.
Fishbelly is a term used interchangeably for the triangular floorbeams on some bridges as well as deck truss bridges with a polygonal bottom chord, with a truss deeper in the center. Example: http://www.historicbridges.org/truss/millcr/
Yes, I have always understood the term "fishbelly" to refer to the type of floor beams used in this, and other bridges from the time period.
I am unfamiliar with the type of fishbelly to which Fmiser is referring. Might be something to check on before we add a category for this.
In my world thay are the floor beams with the triangle shape.
I'm confused. I thought the term "fishbelly" (as it applied to bridges) referred to polygonal or curverd lower chords, usually on a deck truss. But I don't see any curved lower chords in any of these photos. Do I have the definition wrong, or am I missing something in the photos?
Fishbellies do indeed rock Jules!
I finally visited this bridge today....another King and a Whipple. I love the fishbellies. Saw an eagle and a blue heron.
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