This bridge is slated for demolition and replacement!

This bridge is an excellent example of a steel stringer bridge with lattice railing. It also is noteworthy for its surviving jack arch deck. Michigan has a number of "lattice railing stringer" bridges, and these bridges usually are given dates from the 1920s in the National Bridge Inventory. More research is needed to identify the history of these bridges, whether they were a state standard plan or whether they were the design of a bridge company. It is known that the U.S. Bridge and Culvert Company of Bay City, Michigan marketed steel stringer bridges with lattice railings, but it is unclear if this particular bridge is one that they built. An advertisement from the company is shown to the left.

Unfortunately, this rural bridge is slated for demolition and replacement. Gone will be the attractive lattice railings that adorn the bridge, and in their place the plain, ugly guardrails will sit upon an equally ugly slab of concrete. A diagram of the proposed replacement from the plan sheets in the bid package is shown below.