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Key Facts |
Bridge Name |
Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| Cash Road Bridge | Truss | Cash Road | Sanilac County | Rural (Cash) | Elk Creek |
I will always remember 2004 as a dark year for truss bridges. Many truss bridges in Michigan and Pennsylvania had been threatened, torn down, or made private that year. The historic Cash Road Bridge is one of those bridges. Sanilac County Road Commission does not seem to know what "historic bridge" means, and with the 2004 destruction of Church Road, and the 2005 destruction of their last truss bridge, the Nicol Road Bridge, it really does not matter anymore. Before the summer of 2004 there were three, including this bridge. The Cash Road Bridge got lucky. A nearby land owner saw past the 10 ton weight limit, and the one-lane wide deck, and decided he wanted to save the bridge by moving it onto his property.
The Cash Road Bridge is a standard plan warren pony truss with riveted connections . Michigan Historic Bridge Inventory says the bridge was built in 1910. It was probably built to a standard plan, however the bridge today is quite unique. It has a wooden deck, and retains original guardrails, with no modern railings added. It is similar to the Card Road Bridge in Macomb County, however that bridge has a concrete deck. The Cash Road Bridge sat on concrete abutments prior to being moved. The bridge had a posted weight limit of ten tons. Like most bridges in the thumb area of Michigan, this bridge had rusted beyond the point of even being able to tell what it might have been painted at one time. No plaques were on the bridge.
This bridge was located in an area where there were several alternative crossings within a mile. People needing to haul more then ten tons somewhere had lots of other options. I think this bridge should have been repaired to continue serving light-weight traffic. Cash Road does not appear to be a busy road, even by dirt road standards. With so many nearby Elk Creek crossings, it seems only a waste of money to replace this bridge.
Since it is on private property, people can't just visit this bridge whenever they want. But the bridge is still around, and that is what is important. I would not feel bad either, about moving a truss bridge onto my property if no one else cared enough to restore it in a public setting!
