Rating:
14470
{82}%
3 votes
Le Grand Truss Bridge
Photos
Looking west. Bridge destroyed and laying on north side.
Photo taken by Ray Kasal in February 2009
Enlarge
BH Photo #134019
Description
This long-span bridge carries a gravel-surfaced road over the Iowa River on the line between Tama and Marshall counties. The structure is comprised of a single pinned Pratt through truss, supported by steel cylinder piers and approached by steel stringer spans on both sides. Located just north of the small town of Le Grand, the bridge was built here in 1896. On June 29th of that year the boards of supervisors for the two counties met in a joint session to open bids for the fabrication and erection of the Le Grand Bridge. Proposals were received from seven firm and, with a low bid of $3,548, the Marshalltown Bridge and Iron Works received the contract. Using steel components rolled by the Jones and Laughlin mills of Pittsburgh, the Marshalltown, Iowa firm built the truss later that year. The Le Grand Bridge has functioned in place, unaltered, between the two counties since that time, although U.S. 30 now carries the bulk of the east-west traffic through the region.
From the early 1880s until the establishment of state bridge standards in 1913, the pin-connected Pratt through truss was the overwhelming bridge of choice for medium- and long-span crossings in Iowa. Its standardized fabrication, economy of materials and ease of erection made it a mainstay among the various state and regional bridge companies. Thousands of such trusses were built throughout the state during this period, and numerous examples remain in place today. The Le Grand Bridge is noteworthy among these for its long span and relatively high degree of integrity. Functioning for years as an important link between two counties, it is thus both technologically and historically significant [adapted from Fraser 1990].
Facts
- Overview
- Lost through truss bridge over Iowa River on Abbott Avenue, piers remain
- Location
- Tama County, Iowa, and Marshall County, Iowa
- Status
- Destroyed in 2008 flooding
- History
- Built 1896; rehabilitated 1930 Lost in flooding in 2008
- Builder
- - Marshalltown Bridge & Iron Works of Marshalltown, Iowa
- Design
- pinned Pratt through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 157.2 ft.
Total length: 242.1 ft.
Deck width: 14.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 12.2 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +42.03105, -92.76662 (decimal degrees)
42°01'52" N, 92°45'60" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
- Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/519318/4653250 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Le Grand
- Land survey
- T. 83 N., R. 16 W., Sec. 06
- Average daily traffic (as of 2013)
- 150
- Inventory numbers
- IA 318330 (Iowa bridge number)
BH 14470 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
- Inspection report (as of December 2014)
- View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- August 19, 2017: New photo from Luke
- July 6, 2012: New photos from Quinn Phelan
- August 15, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: Fixed name and added builder
- July 26, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: bridge is a pinned pratt truss, added description, added year lost.
- February 22, 2009: New photo from Ray Kasal
Sources
- Ray Kasal - raykasal [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Luke
- Greg Hall - cyclebay [at] aol [dot] com
- Quinn Phelan - qphelan [at] earthlink [dot] net
Thanks for taking and posting photos of the debris. I appreciate it.