It’s obviously awesome that this span was saved. In Pekin, IL; two identical spans seem to exist. One is flopped over in a lake near the UP lift bridge. The other crosses the lake inlet. I strongly suspect both are from the Alton bridge as well. I wonder if one was an accident, and another span purchased? It sure makes one wonder what else may be out there, waiting to be found....
This span appears to have been modified in some way, and I would love to get close:
http://bridgehunter.com/il/tazewell/up---industrial-spur/
This span may have fallen off a barge (???)
Done. Thanks for getting photographs to confirm.
Visited this thing today. It is a real piece of old Alton Railroad Mississippi River Bridge that was saved, moved, and repurposed into a bridge connecting to a floating dock. I got permission to go onto the bridge and dock to photograph it. Can someone who has a desire and time go into the page for the old alton Railroad bridge and note that a span was saved?
It might be that a quick phone call or email would confirm this.
A quick google earth measure indicates this bridge is approximately 210' long, the same length as the Alton Bridge spans. Based on the fact that the owner is a construction contractor who states they work closely with the Army Corp of Engineers, the dimensional and visual evidence, I strongly believe that Alton was the original location of this span. If there are no objections, I will add the build date and historical information to this span.
As always James, nice find!
To me, it looks like a piece of the old Alton railroad Bridge, due to the portals.
Looks like they drive across it. Possibly purpose built but likely relocated. For sure a bridge!
So what is this? I added it due to the fact you can see it from the Interstate Bridge from the north and from Google Map it looks like a real truss. Maybe a relocated truss that is being reused as a dock ramp of sorts? Anyway, is it a real truss bridge?
The span in the lake appears to have been intentionally dumped as a pseudo-dock, as earlier aerials show 3 barges tethered to it.
Also note the half-sunken barge nearby.