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| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date and Builder/Engineer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ganson Street Bridge
| Ganson Street Over Grand River | Jackson: Jackson County, Michigan | Pre-Stressed Concrete Adjacent Box Beam, Fixed | 1956 By Builder/Contractor: Unknown |
| Technical Facts |
| Main Span Length | Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | NBI Number |
| 39.4 Feet (12 Meters) | 39.4 Feet (12 Meters) | 46 Feet (14 Meters) | 1 | 384345000070B01 |
The bridge retains original and unaltered R4 style railings. It displays the less common R4 railing design which uses metal posts instead of concrete posts.
This bridge is one of the oldest examples of a pre-stressed concrete bridge in Michigan, with a 1956 construction date. Because of this fact, the bridge was highlighted in the most recent update to Michigan's Historic Bridge Inventory and is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Pre-stressed concrete was a material and construction method that would go on to become the most common form of bridge construction in the late 20th Century and to the present day. As such, the material has a rather wicked reputation among historic bridge enthusiasts since this form of bridge is what is used to demolish and replace historic bridges.
Interestingly, the bridge's deck and superstructure is listed in "poor" condition in the National Bridge Inventory and evaluated as structurally deficient. This bridge hardly made it past 50 years before gaining this evaluation. This calls into serious question claims made by some states like Pennsylvania who claim that historic truss bridges should be demolished and replaced with modern bridges because the new bridges require less maintenance and will last 100 years. Pre-stressed concrete is not a miracle material, is not an excuse to demolish historic bridges, and it deteriorates just like any bridge material especially as long as salt is used to deice roads. The Ganson Street Bridge suggests that pre-stressed concrete is far less long-lived than the steel and concrete found in many historic bridges.
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