Beyer Road Bridge

"Gugel Bridge"

Above: Photo of this bridge during restoration work.

Visit MDOT's Page For This Historic Bridge

This Bridge Was Restored By William "Tiny" Zehnder Jr.!

This bridge is one of two historic metal truss bridges restored in and near Frankenmuth mainly through the efforts of William "Tiny" Zehnder Jr., who was also credited with turning Frankenmuth into the unique German-themed town that it is today, and one of Michigan's top tourist destinations. Mr. Zehnder also had a love for historic bridges, and his efforts also turned the Frankenmuth area into one of the most successful historic bridge stories in Michigan as well. The other bridge he restored is the Dehmel Road Bridge, which is proudly relocated near M-83 for all to see. Mr. Zehnder passed away recently, on May 23, 2006, indeed not long after the two bridges were finally erected. His death is a sad event for the historic bridge community, but these beautiful restored bridges stand as monuments to his efforts as much as they are monuments to the companies that originally built them a century ago. On that note, I hope that these bridges continue to be maintained. They had some trouble when they painted the Bayer Road Bridge, and indeed the structure is already showing peeling paint and spotty rust in some spots. At some point, this bridge will need to be sandblasted and repainted, and I hope the community of Frankenmuth will pull together to do this!

 I was told that when this bridge had its original wooden deck that it created a very loud racket when driven across, and this experience was a "must" for visitors to the area. See what sort of fun we deprive ourselves of when we demolish truss bridges and build new, bland slabs of concrete? This bridge was originally built to serve the Dixie Highway west of Beyer Road a few miles. Sometime between 1915 and 1920, the bridge was moved to its current location when its replacement was sought on the Dixie Highway. This relocation was encouraged by W. Christian Gugel, who was county treasurer at the time, and wanted the bridge here on Beyer road since his farmland was nearby. This might explain why this large bridge is present on a road that is not really a significant connecting route.

Both spans of the Beyer Road Bridge are pin connected Pratt trusses. V-lacing is present on the vertical members of both spans. In addition, the through span has v-lacing on the sway bracing and under the top chord. The bridge was built in 1904, making the restoration a centennial event for the bridge. A portion of the top chord on one side of the pony span was cut out during restoration, since it was bent, and replaced with a new section of steel. I was personally pleased with the look of the replacement.

This bridge is the closest Michigan will ever get to the demolished Shanley Road Bridge in Pennsylvania. Having both an approach pony truss span and a main through truss span, the Beyer Road Bridge is very special.