| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date / Builder or Contractor |
| Washington Street Bridge | Washington Street Over Augusta Creek Canal | Augusta: Kalamazoo County, Michigan | Metal Stringer, Stationary | 1921 By: Unknown |
| Technical Facts |
| Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | Approach Spans |
| 31 Feet (9.4 Meters) | 18 Feet (5.5 Meters) | 1 | None |
Augusta has a lot of bridge history present on the Augusta Creek Canal, which runs through the village. Three bridges of interest still stand, including this bridge, the M-96 Bridge, and the Van Buren Street Bridge.
This bridge is an attractive lattice guardrail beam bridge. 1921 is the date given by the Michigan Historic Bridge inventory for its construction. The steel stringers on the bridge are painted red, and the railings are painted green. During an August 29th, 2005 visit to the bridge, a village worker was hand-painting the railings, as part of a project to repair this bridge and the Van Buren Street Bridge. This commitment to maintenance sets an example for agencies across the United States. Their efforts of basic maintenance, such as painting, will both ensure that these historic structures remain, and will also save taxpayers the high cost of demolition and replacement of a structure that would become deficient without this maintenance.
The railings on the bridge are in excellent condition, and were not damaged by cars. The bridge sits on concrete abutments. Slight deterioration was present on the abutments. A nearby resident mentioned a neighborhood kid had been chipping away at the abutment. They said they were going to try to deal with the kid, so that the abutments are not damaged further. The deck of the bridge is concrete, and looks to have been redone fairly recently. Wooden curbs have been added to the deck, which serve to protect the lattice railings on the bridge. The bridge is open to traffic and is posted at a five ton weight limit.
While not as intricate as truss bridges, the lattice guardrails on some 1920s steel beam bridges make them an aesthetic bridge nevertheless. Through attrition, few examples of lattice guardrail beam bridges remain. The few that do remain are usually closed to traffic, or have railings that are all bent up from cars or deterioration. This bridge defies the statistics with its good condition, and being open to traffic.
