| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date / Builder or Contractor |
| Pointe Drive Bridge
| Pointe Drive Over Unnamed Canal | Rural: St. Clair County, Michigan | Concrete Through Girder, Stationary | 1938 By: Hill and Belknap |
| Technical Facts |
| Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | Approach Spans |
| 36 Feet (10.9 Meters) | 22 Feet (6.7 Meters) | 1 | None |
This bridge used to carry M-29, until it was realigned. Now it carries local (and light) traffic down Pointe Drive.
This is a standard plan concrete through girder bridge. A plaque on the bridge identifies it as a trunk line bridge, but does not give a construction date. The Michigan historic bridge inventory gives a date of 1938, which seems like a relatively late construction date for this structure type.
These bridges are a good example of the difference between the way bridges today are built versus the way they were built in the early 20th century. Although a rather utilitarian design, this bridge still manages to be attractive, because someone cared enough to add such simple design to the bridge plan as inset rectangles, other small changes in the shape of the girder, that give the appearance of end posts and such. Since attention is no longer paid to aesthetics in bridge design, these sorts of features are no longer included on today's bridges. When attention is paid in modern bridges, such design usually involves adding decorations to a mundane structure. During the time of bridges such as the Pointe Drive Bridge, the emphasis was instead to make the structure of the bridge itself attractive.
There is no reason to waste taxpayer money on replacing this bridge. This is a residential road now, and if trucks need to get down it, they can bypass the bridge using M-29, whose current alignment is not far from this road. A preserved Pointe Drive Bridge would be more than sufficient for the traffic it carries today.
