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Grand River Bridge Lyons (Old)

Ionia County, Michigan

Photos 

Grand River Circa 1920

Photo taken by Dana and Kay Klein in March 2017

BH Photo #383198

Map 

Description 

Built at a cost of $13,000 in 1881 by the township. In 1919 the township abandoned it and the state took control of the bridge. In 1929 Michigan abandoned the bridge. Ionia County wanted the village of Lyons to take ownership of it. A lawsuit was filed over who was responsible for the cost of replacing it. Eventually the state of Michigan, along with Federal aid, paid to replace it.

Facts 

Overview
Lost Whipple through truss bridge over Grand River on Bridge Street
Location
Lyons, Ionia County, Michigan
Status
Replaced by a new bridge in 1975
Builder
- Mt. Vernon Bridge Co. of Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Design
(2)12-panel, pin-connected Whipple through truss
2 pony truss approach spans
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.98195, -84.95031   (decimal degrees)
42°58'55" N, 84°57'01" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/667118/4760848 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Portland North
Inventory number
BH 76113 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

12-panel truss (93)
19th Century (8,382)
Built 1881 (151)
Built during 1880s (2,171)
Ionia County, Michigan (40)
Lost (28,489)
Lost 1975 (93)
Lost during 1970s (946)
Lyons, Michigan (2)
Michigan (1,390)
 Mt. Vernon Bridge Co. (76)
One-lane traffic (7,835)
Owned by city (6,082)
Pin-connected (4,697)
Pony truss (17,012)
Replaced by new bridge (19,375)
Through truss (16,792)
Truss (35,469)
Whipple truss (465)
Wooden deck (6,161)

Update Log 

  • May 13, 2022: Updated by Paul Plassman: Added postcard, truss details, & categories "12-panel truss", "One-lane traffic", "Pin-connected"
  • October 6, 2021: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • July 25, 2019: Updated by Tony Dillon: Added truss type
  • July 25, 2019: New photos from Melissa Brand-Welch
  • July 2, 2019: New photos from Melissa Brand-Welch
  • June 7, 2019: New photo from Melissa Brand-Welch
  • June 6, 2019: New photos from Melissa Brand-Welch
  • March 14, 2017: Added by Dana and Kay Klein

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Dana and Kay Klein
  • Melissa Brand-Welch - melissabrandwelch [at] msn [dot] com
  • Geoff Hubbs
  • Paul Plassman
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Comments 

Grand River Bridge Lyons (Old)
Posted June 7, 2019, by Melissa Brand-Welch (melissabrandwelch [at] msn [dot] com)

Dana & Kay, thanks for adding this . It's definitely kept me entertained for a bit. There's enough information to write a book. Seriously. Multiple car accidents, an arson attempt, lawsuits, a flood, repairs, multiple openings and closings. I restrained myself as much as possible; I wanted to add Everything!