Rainbow Bridge
Description
GPS coordinates are an estimate onlyHere is a link to an article about the bridge http://www.lexingtonillinoisfort.org/Articles/2005/August/Ra...
Facts
- Overview
- Bowstring through truss bridge over Mackinaw River on abandoned section of Green Street
- Location
- McLean County, Illinois
- Status
- Abandoned
- History
- Built in 1868 by the King Bridge Company; abandoned in the 1960s
- Builder
- - King Iron Bridge Co. of Cleveland, Ohio [also known as King Bridge Co.]
- Design
- Wrought iron Bowstring through truss
- Also called
- Pleasant Hill Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.60457, -88.75514 (decimal degrees)
40°36'16" N, 88°45'19" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/351507/4496342 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Merna
- Inventory number
- BH 45418 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- January 13, 2019: New photos from Nick Schmiedeler
- June 7, 2016: New photos from Elliott Johnson
- June 29, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Extant as of 6/24/2011
- May 30, 2010: Added by Anthony Dillon
Sources
- Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Luke
- Elliott Johnson - elliottsgon15 [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Nick Schmiedeler - nick [at] nickschmiedeler [dot] com
Comments
We should relocate the Boner Bridge to cross Long Dick Creek in Story County, Iowa :')
On a side note, the recent photos of this bridge posted were very useful to me and did bring to my attention the fact that this is an altered bridge. The floorbeams are not original and the vertical member connections to the floorbeams are reconfigured, with all cast iron connection assemblies having been replaced. Also, extremely heavy pack rust on the upper chord plate.
...And yes Nick, that Rainbow Bridge does need to be rescued before Mother Nature finishes her reclamation of it! There has been talk for a long time about it... But NO action!
It could be, but hard to be for certain.
Some information I have seen has the Boner (Sorry, but I always snicker when I type this one!) Bridge being started as early as 1866.
Letter to the editor from 1982 ! I haven't found anything else...
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but according to the advanced searches on this website, this is the oldest existing bowstring in it's original spot in the country. The open triple-bowstring in Indiana is one year younger. Are there any efforts in place that anyone knows of to give this old thing more recognition, or any known pushes for preservation? DANG 151 YEARS OLD
Thanks, Melissa. Several hundred abandoned bridges into hunting hobby, this is the oldest one I've visited still in it's original spot....excited, 151 years old, yow!!
Beautiful photos!
I added this a couple years ago and am glad to see it still exists. A truly hidden gem that needs a new lease on life. The county had talked of making this area into a park several years ago...but unfortunately that never came to fruition.
Imagery withing the link: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690215
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/il/mclean/rainbow/
That would be great. Long Dick Creek, which rises up in Hamilton County northeast of Ellsworth and enters the South Skunk River south of Story City already has, like a pony or two.
8^D