Rating:
2 votes

Independence-Riverside Bridge

Warren County, Indiana, and Fountain County, Indiana

Photos 

Photo courtesy of the Indiana State Department of Natural Resource, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

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View more info about Indiana historic bridges from the SHAARD database

BH Photo #156408

Map 

Description 

Built at the same time and under the same contract as the Shawnee Bridge, the total being for $89,990. Both spans were built solely by Warren County with no financial support from Fountain County on the other side of the Wabash. The cut stone substructures were built at the same time and did not come from an earlier crossing.

Facts 

Overview
Lost through truss bridge over Wabash River on Riverside Road
Location
Warren County, Indiana, and Fountain County, Indiana
Status
Replaced by new bridge
History
Built 1905, rehabilitated in 1971, replaced in 1993
Builders
- Attica Bridge Co. of Attica, Indiana (Fabricator)
- William P. Carmichael Co. of Williamsport, Indiana (Substructure)
- Wilmer H. Gemmer (Designer)
Design
5-span, riveted, double-intersection Warren through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 140.1 ft.
Total length: 708.0 ft.
Deck width: 17.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.7 ft.
Also called
Fountain County Bridge #181
Warren County Bridge #73
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.33481, -87.16789   (decimal degrees)
40°20'05" N, 87°10'04" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/485739/4464932 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Attica
Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
250
Inventory numbers
INNBI 8600061 (Indiana bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 39718 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of August 2018)
Overall condition: Good
Superstructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 99.8 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Attica Bridge Co. (36)
Built 1905 (825)
Built during 1900s (7,686)
Double-intersection Warren through truss (184)
Double-intersection Warren truss (496)
Fountain County, Indiana (75)
Indiana (5,112)
Lost (29,127)
Lost 1993 (475)
Lost during 1990s (4,158)
Replaced by new bridge (19,801)
 Riveted (2,570)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,454)
Structurally deficient (12,818)
Through truss (17,232)
Total length 500-1000 feet (3,094)
Truss (35,988)
Wabash River (132)
Warren County, Indiana (39)
William P. Carmichael Co. (5)
Wilmer H. Gemmer (2)

Update Log 

  • March 20, 2019: New photo from Tony Dillon
  • May 17, 2016: Updated by Tony Dillon: Added additional information
  • November 20, 2010: Posted HAER photos
  • February 27, 2010: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Added builder and GPS coordinates
  • March 25, 2009: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Post-mortem information
  • February 8, 2009: Added by James Baughn

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • HAER IN-67 - Riverside-Independence Bridge, Spanning Wabash River at County Road 500, Riverside vicinity, Fountain County, IN
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Comments 

Independence-Riverside Bridge
Posted January 19, 2016, by Jared Jernagan (jernagaj [at] yahoo [dot] com)

I remember riding across this bridge as a kid, and it terrified me. It may have been a near twin to Shawnee Bridge, but I've crossed that bridge hundreds of times in my life and never blinked.

I think it's the difference of a paved deck vs. the wooden deck of the Independence bridge.

Regardless, looking back, it is a shame that old ones like this are gone, if only as artifacts. Glad we still have the Shawnee Bridge.

Independence-Riverside Bridge
Posted April 17, 2010, by James Norwood

Another great loss I had the pleasure of crossing shortly before it was removed.