Buskirk Ford Bridge
Photos
McKee Creek Bridge
Photo taken by Chris Gonnerman in March 2012
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
BH Photo #228886
Description
Originally, this bridge was called Buskirk Ford per local news clipping. August Lange was the stonemason & foreman of this job. He worked for the Gottlieb S. Busch Co, who were the local contractors of record.Buskirk Ford Bridge is a through truss bridge over McKee Creek in Adams County Illinois built in 1885 and is still open to one lane through traffic of less than 4 tons.
From my research I found the following history about the bridge and I took the photos on November 8th 2018. Please see more photos in the comments.
A special committee visited the proposed location at Buskirk Ford for the new bridge and estimated the cost in the Spring of 1885 and reported as follows: We find the necessity for the bridge urgent and the location satisfactory. We made careful soundings and found the foundation all that could be desired at a depth of three feet from the surface. - The Quincy Whig.
May 1885 Estimates
Number cubic yards masonry 238...…….$1000.00
Length of span 74 feet to sustain a moving weight of 1200 pounds per lineal foot, 14 foot roadway...……………...1200.00
Total Estimated Cost...……………………$2200.00
June 1885 the following advertisement appeared in the Quincy Daily Whig:
Notice To Stone Masons!
Sealed proposals will be received at the office of Peter Smith, County Engineer for Masonry for abutments and wing walls for a bridge across McKee's Creek at Buskirk Ford in the county of Adams and State of Illinois until 12 o'clock Monday.
The committee contracted with Messrs J Busch & Co of Quincy Illinois for masonry at $5.95 per cubic yard and with the Morse Bridge Company of Youngstown, Ohio, for the superstructure at $10.85 per lineal foot, the total cost being as follows:
Masonry...………….$1409.87 Superstructure...……..707.43 Total...………………$2200.00
October 1885... Solomon Belmeyer, John H Yeldell and F W Kestner, the committee of the board of supervisors on the Buskirk Ford Bridge, report that the work done by Messrs Gottilieb H Busch & Co was first class in every respect and the best bridge work ever put up in Adams County and they also wish to return thanks to August Lange, foreman for the firm, who worked day and night to get the work done on time and in a satisfactory manner. - The Quincy Daily Herald.
December 1885.....The committee reported... this bridge is a very substantial wrought iron structure, 73 1/2 feet span, and that the same is now completed and paid for. - The Quincy Whig.
September 1893 - A special committee met to examine the Buskirk Ford Bridge, which had been washed away from its abutments by a flood the previous Spring. It was reported that the cost to repair the bridge would be $800 to make it fit for travel and it was recommended that the amount be appropriated for the bridge repair.- The Quincy Daily Herald.
The work was reported finished in December 1893, and the bill of $650 was allowed. - The Quincy Daily Whig.
Facts
- Overview
- Pratt through truss bridge over McKee Creek on TR 416, 4.7 mi. west of Kellerville
- Location
- Adams County, Illinois
- Status
- Intact but closed to all traffic
- History
- Built 1885 by the Morse Bridge Company
- Builder
- - Morse Bridge Co. of Youngstown, Ohio
- Design
- 5-panel, pinned Pratt through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 71.8 ft.
Total length: 90.8 ft.
Deck width: 13.7 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 13.1 ft.
- Also called
- McKee Creek Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +39.92807, -91.03039 (decimal degrees)
39°55'41" N, 91°01'49" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/668307/4421631 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Liberty
- Average daily traffic (as of 2008)
- 10
- Inventory numbers
- IL 001-3196 (Illinois bridge number)
BH 14987 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of April 2018)
- Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 18 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- July 11, 2019: New photos from Jeremy Ruble
- November 18, 2018: Updated by Jeremy Ruble: Updated Description
- January 26, 2018: New photos from K. Allen Ballard
- January 9, 2018: New photos from K. Allen Ballard
- November 29, 2017: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Pin-connected"
- November 29, 2017: New photos from K. Allen Ballard
- July 18, 2015: Updated by Elliott Johnson: erected in 1885, found date specifics in stonework
- July 15, 2015: New photos from Elliott Johnson
- July 14, 2015: Updated by K. Allen Ballard: Add brief history of actual men & contractor who built bridge.
- October 16, 2014: New photos from K. Allen Ballard
- April 1, 2012: New photos from Chris Gonnerman
- May 5, 2010: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Added builder and changed date
Sources
- Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Chris Gonnerman
- K. Allen Ballard - speedeeprint [at] gmail [dot] com
- Elliott Johnson - elliottsgon15 [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Jeremy Ruble - saukee0 [at] yahoo [dot] com
Comments
Jeremy, I love the new photos
Well let's just hope they have enough common sense to preserve it!
Sad to report that after 134 years of service Buskirk Ford Bridge over McKee creek in Adams county has been closed to traffic. Your service is over and you did it well.
FINALLY! getting around to posting some pics from 2.5 years ago following the massive storm that hit West Central Illinois. I showed up at work that day and was told to go home w/ power pretty minimal in Quincy, IL. So, I decided I'd go bridge hunting and headed towards western Adams County and Brown County. Very productive hunt July 14th, 2017.
Definitely a Morse! And much older than the 1905 date since Morse became the Youngstown Bridge Company around 1890.
This is a beautiful bridge! It looks like the work of the Morse Bridge Company of Youngstown, Ohio.
Photos taken 4-28-10.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/il/adams/1319600845/
Sad to report that the date stone has been stolen. Also some of the railings are breaking off. She's not doing to well guys. These pictures were taken by my girlfriend Lumina Buss on 7/20/20