Rating:
2 votes

Chimney Rock Bridge

Winneshiek County, Iowa

Photos 

Oblique view

Photo taken October 2005 by Jason & Birgit Smith

BH Photo #101897

Map 

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Through truss bridge over Upper Iowa River on Chimney Rock Road
Location
Winneshiek County, Iowa
Status
Closed to all traffic
History
Built 1906 by the Continental Bridge Co. Relocated here in 1952- is the first bridge built at this location.
Builder
- Continental Bridge Co. of Peotone, Illinois & Chicago, Illinois
Design
Pin-connected, 10-panel Parker through truss with Town Lattice portal bracing
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 158.1 ft.
Total length: 162.1 ft.
Deck width: 15.4 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.5 ft.
Also called
Snell Bridge (prior to 1952)
Approximate latitude, longitude
+43.42150, -91.93510   (decimal degrees)
43°25'17" N, 91°56'06" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/586202/4808174 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Bluffton
Land survey
T. 99 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 5
Inventory numbers
IA 348790 (Iowa bridge number)
BH 14723 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 04/2015)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 21.9 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2009)
25

Categories 

10-panel truss (147)
Built 1906 (544)
Built during 1900s (6,283)
Closed (2,410)
Continental Bridge Co. (6)
Corrugated deck (515)
Historic Bridge Weekend 2013 (145)
Iowa (5,790)
One-lane traffic (7,422)
Owned by county (18,855)
Parker through truss (1,161)
 Parker truss (1,515)
Pin-connected (3,225)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,774)
Structurally deficient (18,443)
Through truss (12,893)
Total length 125-175 feet (5,245)
Town lattice portal bracing (17)
Truss (29,444)
Upper Iowa River (31)
Winneshiek County, Iowa (85)

Update Log 

  • June 25, 2017: Updated by James Baughn: Field visit reveals this bridge is closed to traffic
  • April 26, 2017: New photos from Kevin Skow
  • October 11, 2012: Updated by Jason Smith: Added category "Town lattice portal bracing"
  • February 1, 2012: Updated by Jason Smith: Added information on the bridge- bridge was moved to this location in 1952
  • January 30, 2011: New photos from Benjamin Cole
  • September 30, 2009: New photos from Jason Smith
  • December 19, 2005: Posted photos from Jason and Birgit Smith

Sources 

  • Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
  • Benjamin Cole - mountainjam99 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Historicbridges.org - by Nathan Holth
  • Kevin Skow - weatherbum [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • James Baughn - webmaster [at] bridgehunter [dot] com
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Comments 

Chimney Rock Bridge
Posted June 6, 2017, by Julie Bowers (jbowerz1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

It was the supervisors in this case.

Chimney Rock Bridge
Posted June 5, 2017, by Jason Smith (flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com)

The article has been archived but I wrote an update on this bridge: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2017/06/06/chimney-roc...

Probably one of the best saves Bjerke has made in his career sofar.

Chimney Rock Bridge
Posted June 3, 2017, by Art S. (asuckewer [at] knite [dot] com)

Repair vs. replacement recommended!!:

http://www.decorahnews.com/news-stories/2017/05/16709.html

Chimney Rock Bridge
Posted September 16, 2012, by Tim (tal61 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

Continental Bridge Co. from Alexandria Mn. didn't exist until some time in the 1980's. Prior to this a Continental Bridge Co. existed in Peotone Illinois with it's headquarters in Chicago. This was from 1903 - 1948. The assets of the company were bought by Bennett Industries who continued bridge and structural work until 1977.