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Key Facts |
Bridge Name |
Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| 28 Mile Bridge | Truss | 28 Mile Road | Macomb County, MI | Rural | Clinton River Branch |
When I wrote to Macomb County to get a list of their truss bridges, they reported that they had three truss bridges, Card Road Bridge, 27 Mile Bridge, and 28 Mile Bridge. All three were pony trusses, and were closed to traffic. All three are in very poor condition and are in danger of collapsing. This is the 28 Mile Bridge. The Michigan Historic Bridge Inventory gives a date of 1928 for the construction of this bridge.
The 28 Mile Bridge is a very simply designed truss bridge, but is nevertheless very interesting. This may be the simplest truss bridge I have seen to date. No v-lacing is present on the bridge. The connections are riveted. The top chord was very unusual, since it was made of plain i-beams. All the truss bridges' top chords I have seen are large beams that are riveted together. Perhaps it was designed by the township, rather than the county, who would have been looking for an economical design. It looks like a budget-bridge to me.
The condition of this bridge was very similar to the nearby 27 Mile Bridge. The 28 Mile Bridge has decayed severely, so bad that some actual parts were missing. Other parts were barely holding together by very small amounts of steel. This bridge appeared to have been repaired long ago, with the addition of large i-beams below the original i-beams below the bridge. Based on the condition of the original i-beams, I think that if the newer i-beams were not present, this bridge would not be here today. I can not guarantee that this bridge will be here tomorrow. The structure is riveted, which means it should be rigid, yet is flexes when you run or jump on the bridge. The trusses also move independent of the deck if you push or lean on them even slightly.
I think that this bridge should have been preserved because of its unusually plain design. It certainly is a unique bridge. However, the bridge has decayed so much that I do not know how anyone could restore this bridge. Macomb County could choose to place the trusses on top of a modern bridge for decoration however. It would be a nice gesture after leaving these bridges to rot for decades. I am not sure how this bridge is holding itself up. If you want to see this bridge standing the time to visit it is now.
This bridge is slated for demolition, as Macomb County continues to reopen roads that have been closed for decades. This is in response to increased traffic due to urban sprawl from Detroit. It is rather disgusting. Because the city of Detroit can't clean up its own city, people have moved out of town, and now Macomb County is being wrecked as well, as heritage structures such as this one are lost forever.
