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St. Clair River Bridge

St. Clair County, Michigan
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Photos 

MI-16-A-1

Photo taken by Clayton B. Fraser, November 1994, for HAER

View photos at Library of Congress

Map 

Street Views 

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Through truss bridge over St. Clair River on Westbound I-94 in Port Huron
Location
Port Huron, St. Clair County, Michigan
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1938; rehabilitated 1999
Builders
- American Bridge Co. of New York
- Modjeski and Masters
- Paul Phillippe Cret
- Sarnias Bridge Co.
- Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Design
"When it opened in October 1938, the Blue Water Bridge symbolized the peaceful relationship between the United States and Canada, a sharp contrast to the hostilities in Europe which were about to erupt into World War II. Forming an efficient link between the Midwest and the East Coast, the bridge had become one of the most heavily-travelled border crossings between the two nations. Modjeski and Masters, an internationally renowned engineering firm based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, designed and supervised construction of the bridge. Although the arch cantilever through truss did not present any unusual engineering challenges, use of the lower chord as part of the deck system was a creative response to aesthetic and budgetary concerns."
--Charlene K. Roise, Hess, Roise & Co., Minneapolis
for Michigan DOT and Historic American Engineering Record
March, 1995
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 871.1 ft.
Total length: 6,178.8 ft. (1.2 mi.)
Deck width: 34.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 17.1 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1980
Also called
Blue Water Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.99917, -82.42500   (decimal degrees)
42°59'57" N, 82°25'30" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/383848/4761707 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Port Huron, MI - Ontario; UTM 17.383020.4761520
Inventory numbers
NRHP 80004841 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
MINBI 77177111000B044 (Michigan bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory 2010 and before)
MINEW 09988 (Michigan bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory 2011 and later)
BH 20237 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 12/2008)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 70.0 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2007)
7,234

Categories 

American Bridge Co. (449)
Arched Cantilever Truss (22)
Built 1938 (581)
Built during 1930s (8,551)
Flared (407)
Have street view (9,889)
I-69 (1)
I-94 (9)
International Border Crossing (11)
Michigan (609)
Modjeski and Masters (11)
NR-listed (2,353)
Navigable waterway (1,448)
Open (28,309)
 Over a mile long (192)
Owned by state (9,807)
Paul Phillippe Cret (2)
Port Huron, Michigan (5)
Sarnias Bridge Co. (1)
Span length 500-1000 feet (313)
St. Clair County, Michigan (16)
Through truss (9,205)
Toll (115)
Total length over 2500 feet (587)
Truss (23,567)
Warren through truss (926)
Warren truss (3,957)
Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Co. (67)

Update Log 

  • October 11, 2012: New photo from Jann Mayer
  • April 13, 2010: New Street View added by Nathan Holth
  • August 11, 2008: Updated by J.R. Manning
  • August 10, 2008: Updated by J.R. Manning

Sources 

Comments 

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