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Glacial River Trail - Rock River Bridge (Fort Atkinson)

Jefferson County, Wisconsin

Photos 

Photo taken by Steve Conro in June 2016

Enlarge

BH Photo #356447

Map 

Street View 

Description 

South end includes a stone arch span which was previously an approach to a truss bridge. It was filled once the current bridge was constructed in 1899, but later unearthed when the bridge was reused as a trail

Facts 

Overview
Deck plate girder bridge over Rock River on Glacial River Trail
Location
Fort Atkinson, Jefferson County, Wisconsin
Status
Open to pedestrians only
History
South approach stone arch built Ca. 1870; current steel spans built 1899
Builder
- Lassig Bridge & Iron Works of Chicago, Illinois
Railroads
- Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW)
- Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
Design
Deck plate girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 60.0 ft.
Total length: 355.0 ft.
Also called
UP - Rock River Bridge (Fort Atkinson)
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.92886, -88.83963   (decimal degrees)
42°55'44" N, 88°50'23" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/349880/4754556 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Fort Atkinson
Inventory number
BH 64162 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (7,566)
Arch (12,100)
Built 1899 (396)
Built during 1890s (2,984)
Chicago & North Western Railway (1,404)
Deck arch (11,339)
Deck girder (5,745)
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin (4)
Girder (10,234)
Have street view (26,947)
Jefferson County, Wisconsin (27)
Lassig Bridge & Iron Works (220)
 Open to pedestrians (4,215)
Owned by county (20,783)
Plate girder (7,923)
Rail-to-trail (1,540)
Railroad (15,414)
Rock River (Wisconsin-Illinois) (84)
Span length 50-75 feet (10,073)
Stone arch (3,051)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,225)
Union Pacific Railroad (2,373)
Wisconsin (1,468)

Update Log 

  • February 22, 2021: Updated by John Marvig: added information, noted historic ca. 1870 stone arch span
  • June 26, 2016: Updated by Steve Conro: Pics and builder info
  • December 28, 2015: Updated by John Marvig: added build date
  • November 19, 2014: New Street View added by John Marvig

Sources 

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Comments 

Glacial River Trail - Rock River Bridge (Fort Atkinson)
Posted February 22, 2021, by John Marvig (marvigj27 [at] gmail [dot] com)

I was pleasantly surprised to discover an ancient stone arch on the south end of this bridge when I visited. Looking at historic aerials, it was only uncovered once this bridge became a trail. I believe it was an approach to an older deck truss bridge. A plaque gives a ca. date of 1870, but I believe it may date even a few years further back, likely to the same time as this one:

http://bridgehunter.com/wi/rock/wsor-rock-river/