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Hickory Island Road Bridge

   

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Bridge Documented: May 16, 2006 and October 2, 2011

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

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Key Facts

	Bridge Name	Facility Carried / Feature Intersected	Location	Structure Type	Construction Date and Builder/Engineer
	Hickory Island Road Bridge	Hickory Island Road Over Rifle River	Rural: Arenac County, Michigan	Truss 8 Panel Pin-Connected Pratt Through Truss, Fixed	By Builder/Contractor: Unknown

Technical Facts

Main Span Length	Structure Length	Roadway Width	Main Spans	NBI Number
128 Feet (39 Meters)	128 Feet (39 Meters)	17.1 Feet (5.2 Meters)	1	06302H00005B010

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

This is a beautiful eight panel pin connected through truss that sits on concrete abutments. The construction date given in the inventory and on MDOT's website is 1920, which is not realistic for a pin connected through truss with an old-style Carnegie stamp on the metal and thus this date is undoubtedly incorrect. This bridge would likely date to earlier than 1900, and possibly date to the late 1880s and early 1890s. This bridge features v-lacing on the vertical members. The portal bracing is a lattice design. The lattice guardrails that remain on this bridge are rather large for a rural highway bridge, in fact they are more like railings that would have been found on cantilevered sidewalks of truss bridges located in urban settings. The railings are welded to the trusses, further indication that the railings seen today are not exactly reflective of what was originally to be found on this bridge. This is an unproven theory about the history of this bridge. Looking at the ends of the floorbeams, the edge is roughly cut as if the beams were cut to length using an oxy-acetylene cutting torch. It is possible that this bridge was not originally built at this location. Instead, the bridge may have been built in an urban location, and it may have had cantilevered sidewalks on each side. At some later date, very likely 1920 since that date is apparently what the county has listed for the construction date, the bridge would have been relocated to this location. At that time, the cantilevered sidewalks would have been removed, which would have included cutting the floorbeams to shorten them. The railings from the sidewalks may have then been reused on the inside of the truss lines as vehicular guardrails. While this story is not proven and it is not known where the bridge might have come from, this would explain every unusual feature this bridge displays. It also explains why a bridge that looks like its from the 19th century sits on concrete abutments that look more like something from 1920.

Ricky Rockwell, County Clerk of Arenac County commented he had heard that a lumber company made a cut on the Rifle River and the the bridge was floated down the river to this location. While lacking in exact details, this story seems to further support the idea that this bridge was reused and relocated from some other place.

Today, this bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic. However the county reports that it has no plans to demolish the bridge, nor any to repair it. It is to remain closed to vehicular traffic but available for public viewing and pedestrian use.

Information and Findings From Michigan Historic Bridge Inventory Statement of Significance The 128' length of this structure makes it one of the longest pin-connected Pratt through trusses in the MDOT inventory. The bridge retains latticework railings.

Photos and Videos: Hickory Island Road Bridge

Available Photo Galleries and Videos

Click on a thumbnail or gallery name below to visit that particular photo gallery. If videos are available, click on a video name to view and/or download that particular video.

 

	2011 Bridge Photo-Documentation Original / Full Size Photos	A collection of overview and detail photos. For the best visual immersion and full detail, or for use as a desktop background, this gallery presents the photos for this bridge in the original digital camera resolution.
	2011 Bridge Photo-Documentation Mobile Optimized Gallery	A collection of overview and detail photos. View the photos for this bridge in a reduced size which is useful for mobile/smartphone users, modem (dial-up) users, or those who do not wish to wait for the longer download times of the full-size photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer (great for mobile users) by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer
	2006 Bridge Photo-Documentation	A collection of overview and detail photos. This photo gallery contains a combination of Original / Full Sized photos and Mobile/Smartphone Optimized (Reduced Size) photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer

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