Skip to main content

Longest U.S. bowstring bridge to be removed, stored; new owner sought

Yaeger (Kern) Bridge Credit: Minnesota Department of Transportation

The longest bowstring arch truss bridge in the United States is slated to come down this summer or fall, with a plan to store it for future use.

The Yaeger (Kern) Bridge, built in 1873 over the Le Sueur River between South Bend and Mankato townships in Minnesota, is in danger of falling down.

The townships had approved money to dismantle the wrought-iron bridge and sell it for scrap, but efforts by state and local officials appear to have saved the bridge, according to the Mankato Free Press.

Under the plan, the bridge will be dismantled and stored until the Minnesota Department of Transportation can find a new home for it, the Free Press reports. Most of the funding for the project will be left over federal grant money from another bridge project in the state. The agency has 10 years to find a new home, after which the bridge could be disposed of. Some hope it can be used in a park or other public location as a pedestrian bridge.

The cost of removing the bridge and putting it into storage is estimated at $340,000, and funding is available to cover 80 percent of the cost to restore and move it to a new location, should one be found, the Free Press reports.

Credit: National Park Service/Library of Congress

The single-span bridge was built soon after the Civil War by John Mahowald and the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio, for Blue Earth County for $6,000, according to an MnDOT bridge report. It remained in service into the automobile age until the 1990s when the road it was on was closed.

One of the exceptional aspects of this bridge is its 189-foot length. Such bridges are typically 50 to 130 feet long in the United States, according to the bridge report. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only bowstring bridge in the state. The only longer bowstring bridge left in North America is the Blackfriars Street Bridge in Ontario, Canada, at 216 feet.

Credit: National Park Service/Library of Congress

The trusses on the Kern Bridge consist of lattice girders as well as latticed top braces. The wooden deck is 20 feet wide.

The bowstring design was developed in 1840, with the first one built over the Erie Canal at Utica, New York, according to the report.

Once the Kern Bridge is removed, the Freeport Bridge in Decorah, Iowa, will be the longest U.S. bowstring bridge still in use. The 156-foot-long bridge was built in 1879, also by the Wrought Iron Bridge Co. It was moved from its original location and now stands in Trout Run Park in Decorah as a pedestrian-only bridge.

 



from Equipment World http://bit.ly/2ZIc0dF
via Handy Rep Ai

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Best Construction Companies in Bengaluru

Bangalore city which is now renamed as Bengaluru city is one of the biggest IT hubs in India. Bengaluru city has attracted many top construction companies in India to construct huge IT parks across the Bengaluru city. We have compiled a list of best construction companies in Bengaluru so that job seekers who are looking for civil engineering jobs can directly visit the job page of this top construction companies in Bengaluru and apply to appropriate jobs. Scope of top construction companies in Bengaluru Apart from building big IT parks, these leading construction companies in Bengaluru are also involved in construction of residential apartments in Bengaluru area, flats in Bengaluru city, big retail outlets in Bengaluru, hotels in Bengaluru, malls in Bengaluru, commercial spaces in Bengaluru etc. That is why in addition to big construction companies in Bengaluru, this city has also attracted top Architecture companies in India, best construction contractors in India, top scaffoldin...
19 comments
Read more

Toro unveils ‘first of its kind’ Dingo TXL 2000, a stand-on loader with extendable arms

Telescoping arms with a wide reach and a doubled load capacity are key features of Toro’s new Dingo TXL 2000, which is in development. A new compact utility loader in development by Toro was the talk of the American Rental Association show in New Orleans, with passers-by eying the long reach of the vertical telescoping loader arms on the Dingo TXL 2000. The gleaming red prototype represented this model’s debut, and plenty of dealers and contractors got a peek of what’s to come with this machine, which is the first of its kind, according to Toro. “This machine won’t be out until the late part of 2018, and why we’re introducing it here is because it’s our 20-year anniversary of the Dingo product line,” Kevin Conry, senior marketing manager at Toro Siteworks in Bloomington, Minnesota, had explained during the show held February 19-21. Related Toro intros Dingo TX 1000, positions strongest CUL as skid steer, CTL alternative at ICUEE (PHOTOS) The construction firms ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wash. construction workers strike for higher pay in battle with contractors

A union member pickets outside new Port Townsend elementary school in Jefferson County, Washington. Jefferson County government’s Twitter feed indicates the strike has cast doubt on whether the school will open as scheduled on September 4. Photo credit: Jefferson County Union construction workers in western Washington, which includes Seattle, went on strike at 6 a.m. August 21 and remain locked in a battle with local contractors over wages, hours and working conditions. The striking workers include crane operators who work in Seattle’s crane-dotted skyline, as well as workers in paving, concrete pumping, dirt work, hoisting and material handling. News reports say the strike has brought many large construction projects to a halt or slowed them. Seattle has the most cranes of any U.S. city, at 65, according to the latest Rider Levett Bucknall North America crane index report . As the strike enters the second week, the Associated General Contractors of Washington, which is negotiatin...
Post a Comment
Read more