| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date / Builder or Contractor |
| Hillman Bridge
M-32 Spur Bridge | M-32 Spur (State Street) Over Thunder Bay River | Hillman: Montmorency County, Michigan | Concrete 70 Foot Plan Curved Chord Through Girder, Stationary | 1922 By: Unknown |
| Technical Facts |
| Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | Approach Spans |
| 0 Feet (0 Meters) | 0 Feet (0 Meters) | 2 | None |
Thanks to Luke Gordon for visiting and photographing this bridge.
With only slightly more than forty of these bridges remaining as of 1995, according to the decade old historic bridge inventory that made the claim, these strange and beautiful bridges that are unique to Michigan are in short supply. There are far fewer remaining today. Even in shorter supply are multi-span examples, with only two multi-span examples left, following the destruction of the great Wadhams Road Bridge. Be sure to read the Wadhams Road Bridge page for more details on the historic significance of this unique structure type. This two-span Hillman Bridge, which has a skew, is obviously a rare and important historic transportation resource as a multi-span example, a skewed example, and an old example of its type. This bridge is also one of the few concrete camelback bridges to feature a cantilevered sidewalk. The sidewalk is original to the structure, although the original railings have been replaced. This bridge was built in 1922, and it deserves to stand for centuries to come. However, MDOT does not agree, and plans to demolish this unique piece of transportation heritage. Each remaining example of Michigan's concrete camelback design is nationally significant. Only isolated examples of this rare bridge type were built outside of Michigan, making each surviving example in Michigan extremely significant and worthy of preservation at any cost.
MDOT has given many excuses as to why this priceless historic bridge cannot be preserved. However these excuses appear to be obstacles, not barriers to preservation. It is the opinion of Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere that this bridge can and should be preserved, and due to its high level of significance should be preserved at all costs. Certainly, choosing preservation might result in more work as different obstacles are worked through, but the end result would be worth the effort. The best way to do preserve the bridge is to slide the historic bridge over and restore it for pedestrian use and construct the new highway bridge in the current location of the historic bridge. It is noted that it is indeed possible to slide a big heavy bridge like the Hillman Bridge over using special equipment that jacks the bridge up and slides it over. Perhaps the most ridiculous of obstacles that MDOT has mentioned is that if the bridge were moved over it would be onto a protected historic park that has a historic gristmill on its grounds. It would seem that because the bridge itself is a nationally significant historic structure, and that special privilege should be granted to use the small part of this land needed to save this bridge. The bridge, as a historic structure, is an asset to the nearby mill and park and helps create a complete living history scene. Relocating the historic bridge next to the new bridge as a sidewalk would require very little right-of-way, indeed not much more than the width of the bridge.
