Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Harrison Street (Lincoln Highway) Bridge

Overview

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Photos

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The deck and east railing

Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007

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The original builder's plaque

Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007

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The old, and the new, government plaque

The original commemorative plaque overlayed with the rebuild plaque of 1987. Note the mileages listed to New York and to San Francisco, via the Lincoln Highway, from this location.

Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007

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The west side, as seen from the Wells Street Bridge

The beautiful arches were replaced by this set of ugly flat piers. The reason? The old arches tended to "...collect debris and cause flooding..." according to local officials. The bridge has been listed as "functionaly obsolete" since 2006.

Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007

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The east railing and deck

Photo taken by J.R. Manning in October 2007

There is some confusion about this bridge

Written by J.R. Manning

The Harrison Street Bridge carried the original routing of the Lincoln Highway through Fort Wayne. Although the route later changed, this was the bridge that carried the Lincoln Highway "Proclamation Route," that is, the first route announced by the Lincoln Highway Association in 1913.

Cities and towns were proud to be located on the Lincoln Highway and showed their pride in numerous ways. Fort Wayne had arches over the road on both the east and west entrances to the city. Although the aches are long gone, the Harrison Street Bridge still displays plaques that point the mileage to New York and San Francisco, the terminals of the Lincoln Highway.

Postcards and photos of the era show this to be an arch bridge. According to these records, this is the original bridge, rebuilt in 1987 with piers instead of arches. Local historians tell me the bridge was replaced in 1987, but the original plaques and markers were placed on the new bridge. The arches were replaced with piers, because the arches, reportedly, held spring debris and caused flooding.

Whether or not this is the original bridge, this is a historic location for carrying America's first coast-to-coast paved highway, The Lincoln Highway. Fort Wayne is as proud today as it was in 1913 for being a part of this historic highway, including a displays in local museums.

Facts

Overview: Stringer bridge over St. Marys River on Harrison Street
Location: Allen County, Indiana
Status: Open to traffic
History: Built 1915; rehabilitated 1987
Design: Stringer
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 95.8 ft.
Total length: 369.8 ft.
Deck width: 36.7 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude: +41.08400, -85.14270 (decimal degrees)
41°05'02" N, 85°08'34" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 16/656007/4549743 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Fort Wayne West
Inventory number: BH 36328 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 07/2006): Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 78.5 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2006): 4,180