Ash Road Bridge (1929)

Photos

A View Of The Bridge Which Demonstrates The Length Of The Causeway. Looking East, From Upriver, South Side

Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #155157

Map

Maps and Databases

Street Views

Description

The County Line Bridge, in the vicinity of Osceola, Elkhart County, is significant as an example of early 20th century reinforced concrete bridge design and construction. It utilizes known design elements in an aesthetically pleasing and structurally interesting manner. It also represents an unusual example of a mutual project between two county councils, in which funding, contracting and design decisions were arranged through a special joint board. Further, it is the work of a master, the South Bend engineer, William S. Moore. In discussing the significance of this bridge, Patrick R. Ralston, Indiana's State Historic Preservation Officer has said: "In our opinion, the SR 219 bridge over the St. Joseph River in Elkhart County is of local significance. This three-span, open-spandrel concrete arch bridge with its long, filled causeway is architecturally significant in the Elkhart County-St. Joseph County area."

- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts

Overview: Concrete arch bridge over St. Joseph River on Ash Road
Location: St. Joseph County, Indiana, and Elkhart County, Indiana
Status: Open to traffic
History: Built 1929; rehabilitated 1995
Builder: - William S. Moore of South Bend, Indiana
Design: Open-spandrel Arch
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 89.9 ft.
Total length: 284.0 ft.
Deck width: 49.9 ft.
Recognition: Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Also called: County Line Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude: +41.68009, -86.06135 (decimal degrees)
41°40'48" N, 86°03'41" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 16/578125/4614683 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:: Osceola
Average daily traffic (as of 2014): 13,787
Inventory numbers: INNBI 7100119 (Indiana bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 17051 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of September 2018): Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 82.9 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Update Log

January 19, 2015: Updated by Dave King: Added builder & HAER description
February 20, 2011: New Street View added by Jodi Christman
February 20, 2011: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Added Elkhart County
February 21, 2010: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Adjusted GPS coordinates
February 14, 2010: Updated by Robert Stephenson: Alternate name, Design and HAER data

Sources

Robert Stephenson - seinfeld99 [at] yahoo [dot] com
HAER IN-68 - County Line Bridge, Spanning St. Joseph River at State Route 219, 0.6 mile south of U.S. Route 20, Osceola vicinity, Elkhart County, IN
Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
Jodi Christman - masterofchaos [at] outlook [dot] com
Historicbridges.org - by Nathan Holth
Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com