Green Bridge

I was downtown the other day and wanted to see what progress if any they have made with the rehab. It looks like they have been working on the bridge for a little while.

While I do not want to diminish an extremely positive story and do not want to suggest anything other than that I am very happy to see this bridge saved from demolition and preserved, I also want to note I have personally reviewed the contract documents and plans, and the correct term for this project is "rehabilitation" as it does not meet the definition of "restoration" which seeks to be more respective of the original design and materials of the truss. Modern substitutes such as a large number of clevis style bracing connections and replacement of rivets with modern bolts mean that this is a rehabilitation rather than a restoration. That said, it does appear the original riveted built-up floor beams will be retained, although with the replacement of a number of rivets with bolts. On the other side of the coin, it appears a number of alterations on this bridge are from prior work not related to the current project, and some modern substitutes may be to address areas of the bridge that already suffered from loss of original material.

It's official! The Des Moines City Council has approved the restoration of the Green Bridge. Contract will be let in the coming week with the project to commence in the spring. If all goes well, the bridge will be reopen by this time next year. More details here: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2015/11/25/reconstruct...

Many thanks to all that have helped a great deal to make it happen! :-D

Good news! Funding for Green Bridge Raised- Restoration to Proceed - See more at: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2015/10/08/funding-for...

They are getting close to their goal:

http://www.businessrecord.com/Content/Real-Estate-Developmen...

More funding possibilities for the bridge available. There's a Mayor's Run/Walk on April 18th. T-shirts are being sold and donations are also being taken by the DM Community Center. More information here: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2015/04/12/green-bridg...

Additional money approved for the renovations of the Green Bridge in Des Moines, a PPP project approved in December. With $1.25m in the bag, it's just a matter of grants and other fund-raising drives to make up the difference for the project expected to cost up to $3m. More here: http://www.kcci.com/news/500000-approved-to-save-downtown-br... More on how the bridge will be renovated will come very soon, but things are really looking up thanks to the efforts by many dedicated people wanting the bridge to stay. :-)

JS

Congratulations to the Friends of the Green Bridge for a resounding victory! A 7-0 City Council Approval for a joint project to raise funds and restore the 1898 Raccoon River crossing that has been closed since March! Now the next step is fund-raising and determining the bridge's needs (exactly)! More details here in this link: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2013/12/24/newsflyer-c...

Many cheers for the efforts!

Two important announcements: 1. A petition is going around to be sent to the Des Moines City Council. Click on the link below and follow it to CREDO to sign. Also like the page and keep up to date on the latest with the bridge.

Link: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2013/11/28/jackson-str...

2. The Des Moines City Council talked about the bridge during the meeting on the 26th of November, which included five people speaking for saving the bridge and a pair against it. The claim that it will cost $3.7m to restore the bridge is too high according to many. If you know of any restoration examples that are LOWER than $3m, please post your examples on the Bridgehunter's Chronicles' facebook page. I already have a few bridges from Michigan on there, but I'm sure there are enough US examples to go around.

Next meeting is December 16th. More information will be posted then. Happy Thanksgiving! :-)

KCCI video on the bridge: http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/What-will-happen-next-...

They did ultrasound of the eyebars which they thought showed cracking. Nels says that is wrought iron slag lines. We have talked tobthe engineer just waiting on parks board to call Back next week.

This could be a cool educational experience for all.

Nathan,

From what I understood (although it is unclear if these facts are true) is that pier issues and broken eyebars are the primary reasons why the bridge is closed. But as you said, the bridge was restored in 1998 and appears to be in fabulous shape. The City might be making excuses to justify tearing the bridge down because they're trying to modernize the southern portion of the City with new bridges. I tried to get in touch with the city engineer demaning the inspection reports on the bridge but haven't heard anything. Julie Bowers tried to contact them but only got brief answers so something is fishy here... I just heard that the Waterworks Truss Bridge is also on the hit list. Get the word out for our next plan is to start a petition drive to get the city to reconsider. Other ideas, including purchasing the bridge for rehab and others may be in the works...

Stay tuned.

JS

I am having difficulty understanding the situation here. Based on the photos, the bridge appears to be preserved for pedestrian use. Although beginning to show signs of rust, the paint system overall appears to be intact. I find it hard to believe that the bridge suffers from widespread section loss that would render a vehicular truss bridge unsafe for the light loads of pedestrian usage, or would be expensive to prepare.

Des Moines should join the 21st Century and strive to be a great city, not a boring city devoid of history and facilities for non-motorized traffic. They should join forward-looking cities like Grand Rapids, Michigan and rehabilitate this bridge for continued vehicular traffic. Grand Rapids just repainted its Blue Bridge (haven't even got the photos online yet)... and it wasn't even rusty yet!

http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowse...

A facebook page for this bridge has been created, using it as a platform for photos, information and as a petition to force the City of Des Moines to reconsider. Right now, almost 700 likes out of the goal of 1000 has been reached. The plan is once the millennium mark is reached, we'll start several measures to put heat on the city government which owns the bridge. Ideas include petition drives, meetings and the like. To join the movement, please go to this link: https://www.facebook.com/5th.Street.Bridge

You'll receive updates on this bridge through this page, while examples of restored historic bridges will be posted via Bridgehunter's Chronicles, which you can like and follow by going here: https://www.facebook.com/TheBridgehuntersChronicles or through twitter.

Let's join in the fight to save this important landmark.

JS

More information about the 5th Street Trail Bridge: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2013/11/04/what-to-do-...

Word is getting around that the City of Des Moines has decided to close the bridge indefinitely with plans of removing the entire crossing being not so far off. The situation with the bridge is dire for the City does not want to pay for the repairs and maintenance and would prefer to relieve itself of its responsibilities and liability to the bridge. Work has started to find ways to force the city council to reconsider this decision. Any suggestions should be made to the groups working to save Des Moines' heritage, including Lost Des Moines (group found via facebook).

Article: http://whotv.com/2013/03/15/pedestrian-bridge-structural-iss...

Current photos