Rating:
5 votes

2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge

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Photos 

Photo taken by Dave Sebben

View this photo on Flickr

Map 

Description 

Built 1901, replacing a superstructure built in 1872 by the Baltimore Bridge Company.

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Sylvan Slough on 2nd Street
Location
Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois
Status
Intact but closed to all traffic
History
Built 1901, closed in the early 1960s, converted to pedestrian usage in 1995, Closed 2013
Design
Pin-connected Pratt through truss; Two spans, one with six panels, the other with seven panels.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 110.0 ft.
Total length: 200.0 ft.
Also called
Sylvan Island Wagon Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.51097, -90.53599   (decimal degrees)
41°30'39" N, 90°32'10" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/705625/4598413 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Davenport East
Inventory number
BH 48242 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Update Log 

  • April 30, 2013: Updated by John Marvig: Bridge is now closed
  • December 29, 2012: New photos from John Marvig
  • December 28, 2012: Updated by John Marvig: Added information
  • June 4, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: Added photograph
  • February 24, 2011: Added by Nathan Holth

Sources 

Comments 

2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge
Posted April 30, 2013, by Luke Harden (lukemh9 [at] gmail [dot] com)

There is no more public access to the island. This bridge was the only way for the public to access the island.

2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge
Posted April 30, 2013, by B. Lauver (bllauver [at] toad [dot] net)

Is there any longer public access to Sylvan Island? The road bridge is closed and the RR bridge appears to be shut off from trails.

2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge
Posted April 30, 2013, by Nathan Holth

"Too much bounce?" Seriously? Whoever inspected this bridge does realize this is a PIN CONNECTED truss bridge, right? Obviously, these bridges do flex noticeably under load. Does this person not know this? The only situation where "bounce" would be of concern is if an underlying issue caused excess flex, and if so, it is the underlying issues that should be described, such as section loss, sinking abutments, etc.

2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge
Posted April 30, 2013, by Luke Harden (lukemh9 [at] gmail [dot] com)

Hopefully Moline makes the better choice to fix the bridge up, rather than simply replacing it.

2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge
Posted April 30, 2013, by John Marvig (johnmarvig [at] chaska [dot] net)
2nd Street Sylvan Island Bridge
Posted February 24, 2011, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

OK, I think I have the two Sylvan Island Bridges represented correctly on this website. This is the highway bridge. Some websites say this bridge was built in 1872 by Baltimore Bridge Company, and "strengthened in 1901". However, the truss spans do not look even remotely like something built in 1872. I strongly believe that the bridge was replaced in 1901 with the spans seen today. The former substructure from 1872 may have been reused, which may be why there is this confusion. Given these observations, I listed the construction date as 1901 and the builder as unknown.

Note that the other bridge to this island is a nationally significant (but little known) Phoenix column Whipple railroad truss.