| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date / Builder or Contractor |
| Cowling Road Bridge | Cowling Road (Old Alignment) Over Rocky River | Rural: St. Joseph County, Michigan | Concrete Deck Arch, Stationary | 0 By: Unknown |
One look at the bridge and you can see that this bridge has been closed for eons! The western end of the bridge is right next to the new Cowling Road, and is easy to get to. One look at the eastern approach however reveals how long the bridge has been closed. With most abandoned bridges, you can usually see the old road grade and figure out where the road used to be, but that is not the case with this bridge! There are mature trees growing on the approach of the bridge and there is no sign of the old road. although some maps still show the old alignment of Cowling Road. Going back to the Cowling Road Bridge, the arches have deteriorated and weakened, resulting in the warping of the deck. Spalling is present on many parts of this concrete bridge. The bridge is attractive, partly due to a stamped stone design that was incorporated into the bridge. Although long ago somebody or something broke the railings off of the bridge, the remains of broken off steel poles sunk into the concrete suggest that the original railing on the bridge was a pole railing. The bridge itself is a two span structure.
Despite all the deterioration, no reinforcing rods are visible on the bridge. More research is needed on this structure. If it does not contain any reinforcing rods, it would be an extremely rare example of a concrete arch bridge that does not use reinforced concrete.
