Waterford Bridge
A Technical Overview...
Written by Matthew Lohry
There are many reasons to allow this bridge to live on—first of all, V-lacing abounds, adding to the intricacy and beauty of the structure overall. V-lacing exists under the upper chord, on the vertical truss members (with the V-lacing facing the roadway rather than either end), on the sway bracing, and even the bottom chord! The truss’s built-up diagonal members are of the batten-type. The portals are of the typical A-frame design used during this era of bridge building.
Some of the photographs show square-head bolts rather than rivets for connections. Apparently, these are original, as bridge building standards (at least in Minnesota) did not yet require all-riveted connections. The steel was manufactured by Jones & Laughlin.
Another interesting feature is that the concrete deck (which is overlaid with asphalt) is of the jack-arch type. Unfortunately, the deck is deteriorating quite badly in some locations and has holes along the edges. The abutments are made of concrete and are suffering from mild deterioration. The superstructure, however, appears to be in relatively good condition and is perfectly restorable (at least in my estimation).
I hope that whoever steps up to restore this rare and beautiful piece of civil engineering history removes the horribly ugly beams that were welded across either portal to restrict the height!
Dakota County is in the process of realigning the roadway and constructing a concrete slab several hundred feet west of this historic structure. Fortunately for us historic bridge lovers, the county is allowing the historic bridge to remain in its current location for potential use as a bike and pedestrian trailway! The Dakota County Website says “possible future rehabilitation”, which tells me that no plans to rehabilitate are in place at this time. Hopefully, someone with the funds will step up and take on this vital task.
I would like to point out that as my two boys and I were under the bridge throwing rocks into the river, two cars passed over, and I would have never known if I had not seen the cloud of dust from the gravel road! Normally you would hear some sort of vibration or slight rocking, but not here! I think the bridge is sturdier than people give it credit for.
Facts
- Overview
- Through truss bridge over Cannon River on CR 166 Canada Ave.
- Location
- Dakota County, Minnesota
- Status
- Bypassed by a new bridge in 2010. Bridge open to pedestrians only.
- Future prospects
- This bridge was replaced by a concrete slab bridge but remains in place as a pedestrian bridge with chances of being reincorporated in a bike trail in the near future.
- History
- Built 1909; made obsolete by a new bridge in 2010 but remains intact for pedestrian use
- Builders
- - Chas A. Forbes (Designer)
- Hennepin Bridge Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Design
- The camelback through truss is a variation of the Parker through truss, the difference being that the upper chord of a camelback has exactly five sides, including the end posts, whereas a parker has more than five sides, giving the top of the upper chord a more curved appearance.
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 137.1 ft.
Total length: 143.1 ft.
Deck width: 15.4 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 7.7 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on August 26, 2010
- Also called
- Cannon River Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +44.48750, -93.12833 (decimal degrees)
44°29'15" N, 93°07'42" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/489795/4926028 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Northfield
- Inventory numbers
- MN L3275 (Minnesota bridge number)
NRHP 10000580 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 20349 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 01/2009)
- Deck condition rating: Critical (2 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 0.0 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 1996)
- 125
Update Log
- January 16, 2013: Updated by Luke Harden: Added builder.
- August 28, 2011: Updated by Jason Smith: This bridge has been bypassed by a new bridge but is open to pedestrians only.
- September 4, 2010: Updated by James Baughn: Posted to the National Register
- April 13, 2010: Essay added by Matthew Lohry
- February 2, 2010: Updated by Matthew Lohry: Added photos, updated name and status information
- June 6, 2009: Updated by Brian McKee: Modified road name
Sources
- Luke Harden - lukemh9 [at] gmail [dot] com
- Brian McKee - bjmckee51 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Matt Lohry
- Jason Smith - JDSmith77 [at] gmx [dot] net
Comments
The Township is grateful to Workin' Bridges and it's group of experts for getting the project moving forward. "Once contacted, Workin' Bridges has been instrumental in getting the experts involved and providing the Township with the necessary steps to proceed with a bidding process. Everyone involved has gone above our expectations with this project, and have been wonderful to work with." Liz Messner, Township Superviosr
Invitation to Bid
Creating the RFP for the design/build for this project based on the Scope of Work provided by the Workin' Bridges team. This is cool, it changes the conversation to targeted, affordable engineering, construction and craftsmanship for restorations.
The team is assembling.....I have been at the bridge,,,,,,just to say Hey We Are Coming.....
Workin' Bridges is delighted to announce we have been hired to perform a site visit next week in Minnesota with the goal of arriving at a bidding document, and a sealed estimate and schedule for the job. The team includes Bob Schwensen of Davis Construction Inc of Lansing, Michigan and Nels Raynor from BACH Steel, Holt, Michigan. Both have years of experience with all phases of bridge construction.
The Waterford Iron Bridge won a National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express prize last year. Engineering did not result in a workable plan with regard to the grant proposal so Workin' Bridges goal is to provide a solution with targeted engineering and a plan for future phases for restoration.
Workin' Bridges is delighted to announce we have been hired to perform a site visit next week in Minnesota with the goal of arriving at a bidding document, and a sealed estimate and schedule for the job. The team includes Bob Schwensen of Davis Construction Inc of Lansing, Michigan and Nels Raynor from BACH Steel, Holt, Michigan. Both have years of experience with all phases of bridge construction.
The Waterford Iron Bridge won a National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express prize last year. Engineering did not result in a workable plan with regard to the grant proposal so Workin' Bridges goal is to provide a solution with targeted engineering and a plan for future phases for restoration.
Wow! That is one bit-time feat to receive the bronze and almost $100,000 for bridge repairs. Thanks for the message and I'll make note of it when I send a column to the Chronicles. It's a huge victory for the historic bridge community. :-D
Good news! This bridge came in 3rd place for amount of funding awarded through the recent contest! It will get $95,000 to remove and replace the cracked southeast wing wall. http://www.twincities.com/ci_19307144
I grew up a mile from this great bridge! I spent countless hours playing on and around it. Those who live near it are in love with it! It is such a great piece of american civil engirneering!
Emily
Partners in Preservation is having a Facebook vote on 25 historic structures. Of all the 25 structures, only one is a historic bridge, the Waterford Iron Bridge. The bridge currently does not have a lot of votes. I am hoping everyone here at BridgeHunter would vote for the bridge. The list of structures is here: http://www.facebook.com/PartnersinPreservation?sk=app_141057402657034 and here is a news article about the voting: http://northfield.patch.com/articles/waterford-iron-bridge-one-of-25-finalists-for-1-million
It doesn't cost anything to vote. With a few minutes of time you can help save a historic bridge. Please vote for this and have all your friends do the same!
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/mn/dakota/L3275/